The BMC B-series was a straight-4 internal combustion engine family, mostly used in motor cars, created by British company Austin Motor Company. The pre-cursor of the "B" series engine was a 1200 cc OHV engine which was used in the 1947 Austin A40 Devon. This A40 Devon engine was based on a pre-war Side-valve design. Austin realised that eventually they would need an engine that could power many of its forthcoming medium-sized cars, and this would require an engine of at least 1500 cc capacity. Since the A40 Devon engine could not have its capacity enlarged, a new engine was designed, which, although superficially similar, was longer and heavier than the A40 Devon engine. The design of this new engine commenced around January 1952, and was designated as the "B" series. Displacements ranged