In August 1914, just after the beginning of the First World War, the army of the Russian Empire started to form armoured car units.

Due to limited production capabilities of the country's automotive industry it was decided to order a number of vehicles abroad.

A committee was sent to the United Kingdom, but failed to find an armoured car that met their requirements for overhead protection and two machine gun turrets.

First combat experience, however, revealed that the protection was still too weak and the vehicles were fully rearmoured at Izhorski Works, Izhorsk.

The improved armour made the Austins much heavier, resulting in limited mobility and occasionally in chassis damage.

The hull was shorter, with thicker armour, the driver's cab roof was modified to improve machine guns' angle of fire.

The vehicles were similar in characteristics to the 2nd series, but had modified rear hull with driving post, MG shields, bulletproof glass in the front vision slots and lacked big side windows.

Yet another version, with strengthened chassis and double rear wheels, sometimes referred to as Austin model 1918, was ordered in 1917 but due to events in Russia none were delivered.

It was planned to build the cars by July 1917, but work was virtually brought to halt by the February Revolution and the subsequent chaos.

Twelve hulls identical to those of Austin-Putilov were mounted on a Kégresse halftrack chassis, resulting in vehicles known as Austin-Kégresse.

Russian Austins' most obvious features were diagonally placed MG turrets (in order to reduce width) and additional right side door.

In August, platoons were arranged into twelve "armoured automobile battalions" (Russian: броневой автомобильный дивизион – bronyevoy avtomobilniy divizion or автобронедивизион – avtobronedivizion), each attached to a specific army.

The Austin-Putilov armoured car named Vrag Kapitala ("Enemy of the Capital"), on display at the Artillery Museum, Saint Petersburg, is often referred to as the vehicle which Lenin stood on to address the crowd in April 1917.

Sixteen of the Austins built for Russian but not sent following the revolution were used to equip the 17th (Armoured Car) Battalion of the Tank Corps.

[2] Having crossed the German frontier at Malmedy, Belgium, on 1 December 1918 after the Armistice, the 17th was the first British unit to enter Cologne on the Rhine on the 8th, escorting the Commanding Officer of 2nd Cavalry Brigade to negotiate Allied control of the city.