In 1945 David Grenfell, who himself had worked in mining, proposed a scheme to rehabilitate miners suffering from pneumoconiosis, and the newly elected Labour government backed his idea. At about the same time, the Austin Motor Company was desperate to find a new export product with high added value, relatively cheap to manufacture, but which could command a premium price. (thank you Stephen R!)

"It was important that the work wasn't too arduous for the men, but that it should be profitable and meaningful, not an act of charity."

 "The pedal cars - based on their full-size Austin A40 Devon - could utilize scraps of leftover material but would be, in the words of Austin's chairman Leonard Lord: 'Something which every Hollywood star's child will be pictured playing in'."

Dr Whyley said workers started producing parts for real cars as well as the pedal ones and "for most of the factory's existence, it was the only profitable arm of the company".

The pedal cars' attention to detail was exquisite.

The dials, dashboard and steering wheels were exact miniatures of the Devon's, mock spark plugs were sourced from duds on the Longbridge production line, drive only went to the rear right wheel to allow the left to spin at a different speed during "high-speed" cornering and the handbrake was said to be strong enough to prevent a full-size car from rolling down a hill.

The ex-miners went above and beyond when, on 11 January 1962, a gas explosion blew the roof clean off the factory. Thanks to their quick-thinking it was up and running again inside a week.

After 22 years and 32,098 cars, in 1971 it was decided the Austin Pedal Car could no longer compete with cheaper imports.

Nonetheless, there remains a thriving Austin Pedal Car community, with the new company supporting the Settrington Cup J40 Grand Prix each year for youngsters at the Goodwood Revival.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx5zlkz9lpo

https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2017/09/goodwood-revival-2017.html