Once under the skin...How's the market place at present??!!

[Brynmor]

There's a few A40's racing aren't there? Must be honest I know ZERO about them...

[Pandora]

A pininfarina design I believe, but basically Morris Minor. Is it the Mk2 or the countryman variant that can lay claim to being the first hatchback? a bit like a range rover I seem to recal - the lower tailgate drops down, and the glass goes up.

good fun, and surprisingly rare these days.

[Old English White]

They're certainly not "basically a Morris Minor". In fact there is nothing at all from the Minor except that they share the same "A series" engine but even that was an Austin design of course. Actually the A40 was largely A35 in modern clothing - this example being the updated Mk2.
A40s were built in Saloon (like this) form and also "Countryman" which as you say had a split tailgate a bit like an early Range Rover which with a folding rear seat, made them a very practical car, rather ahead of their time although Citroen had a hatchback version of the light fifteen just before or just after the war.......
The one area where the Minor outshone the A40 was probably the steering, the Minor rack and pinion being a great improvement over the Austin's steering box.
Looks good value at £1500 doesn't it . Parts are not so readily available and are comparitively expensive so buying a good one is the way to go.