--- title: "Scottish Teen Saves All His Money to Buy 85-Year-Old Austin as First Car" date: "2023-12-16" modified: "2023-12-16" authors: - name: "Kristin V. Shaw" job_title: "Contributor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kristin-shaw" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/scottish-teen-saves-all-his-money-to-buy-85-year-old-austin-as-first-car" categories: - "News" --- # Scottish Teen Saves All His Money to Buy 85-Year-Old Austin as First Car ![]() My first car was an aesthetically challenged [Dodge Aspen](), a boxy beast in a shade of tan only seen on Coppertone sunscreen bottles when SPF numbers didn’t top two or four. My friends had [a spunky little Sunbird](), a [Toyota Corolla](), and an [El Camino](). Nineteen-year-old Callum Grubb of Scotland bested us all with his choice of a first car: a sleek black 1938 Austin 10 Cambridge. According to the *[BBC]()*, Grubb says he is obsessed with the pre-war era and has been saving his pocket change for several years to buy this car. Incidentally, he also wears clothing from the period and uses a corded telephone from the 1940s. Modern electronics are not his thing; Grubb says he is “rubbish” with technology. ![]() "I was forced to have a laptop for college, and I hated it," he said. In the Austin 10, he’s certainly picked a classic. Launched in 1932, the car was assembled by the same British company that produced the Austin-Healey sports car line in the early '50s. The 1938 Austin 10 was built on a ladder chassis and was produced for 15 years before its retirement. Grubb met the owner of the car at a museum and later bought it for 7,000 GBP, or about $9,000. A video featuring Grubb shows that the Austin 10 had some unusual features like trafficators, which predated turn signals; a windscreen that opens outward; and “anti-dazzle” blinds in the rear. It’s right-hand drive, naturally, with a four-speed gearbox. Under the hood is a 1.125-liter (1125 cc) engine and it has a top speed of about 50 miles per hour. ![]() “A lot of these cars in museums and whatnot will never go again, that’s them for the rest of their lives in a museum and that’s not what they’re there for,” said Grubb. “They’re meant to be used and enjoyed.” Grubb named his car “Poppy” and has become a viral sensation; he doesn’t really see what the fuss is all about. It’s just who he is; a kid who prefers the simpler times of the 1940s to today. *Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Kristin Shaw is the former Weekend Editor for The Drive and a current freelancer in both the automotive and aviation worlds. She’s a big fan of anything car-related and calls on her technology background on the corporate side to explain engineering and high-tech concepts. Now living in her sixth state (New Jersey, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia, and now Texas), she is thrilled that working from home is now mainstream. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Instagram]() [Twitter]()