The best cars from British Leyland - yes, really

British Leyland: a reliable root of jokes for ‘Fawlty Towers’, Private Eye and anyone searching for a awesome of Failing Britain successful the 1970s.

And it was also, briefly, the 2nd biggest car institution extracurricular the US (after Volkswagen) aft it was officially formed 55 years ago, connected May 13 1968. BLMC was created retired of the merger betwixt the Leyland Motor Corporation and British Motor Holdings, past the 2 largest wholly British car manufacturing groups successful the UK. 

The resultant concern sprawl saw Austin, Morris, MG, Triumph, Rover, Jaguar, Land Rover, Riley, Wolseley, Vanden Plas and Daimler thrown together, on with an extended assortment of truck, autobus and engineering businesses. The indigestability of this merger, unneurotic with monolithic underfunding and nightmarish concern unrest saw the concern shrinking faster than a water successful an Australian drought.

But that didn’t halt immoderate absorbing machines from emerging, respective of them legends, earlier the progressively stained British Leyland (BL) sanction was eliminated, successful 1986. Join maine arsenic we instrumentality a look astatine its best:

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Austin 1300 GT (1969)

‘The One GT That Just Had To Be’. So work the ads for the vinyl-roofed, fake alloy-wheeled, duplicate carburettor Austin 1300, which appeared 7 years aft the archetypal hugely fashionable large Mini that was the Morris 1100, for galore years the UK's top-selling car.

Austin 1300 GT (1969)

This was much than the lifespan of the mean car today, but 5 years earlier the 1100/1300 went retired of production. Quite a deed contempt the tackiness of its modish matt achromatic add-ons, and much-prized today. Its 70bhp mightiness not dependable overmuch today, but backmost past it qualified this car arsenic a blistery hatchback.

Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 (1972)

BL canned the Mini Cooper successful 1971, but its Italian partners Innocenti continued to physique Coopers until 1975, launching the 71hp Cooper 1300 successful 1972. 

Innocenti Mini Cooper 1300 (1972)

Much amended finished than the UK variety, it featured six-dial instruments, cloth trim, Rostyle wheels, opening quarterlights and galore different item improvements, selling good successful Italy, Germany and France.

Innocenti Bertone Mini (1974)

Such was the occurrence of Innocenti that it did what BL had failed to do, and developed its ain Mini replacement. Designed by Bertone, it utilized Mini mechanicals and was astir identically scaled due to the fact that BL couldn’t spend the £1 cardinal concern required to widen the wheelbase.

That constricted income of a stylish, well-built supermini that with that other investment, could person filled successful for the Metro that came six years later.

Jaguar XJ12 (1971)

The 1968 Jaguar XJ6 was awesome capable with its sporting chassis, sumptuous comfortableness and subtle elegance, but the much-anticipated XJ12 was a wide contender for the best-car-in-the-world title.

Amazing refinement, subtle potency and the sophistication of 12 cylinders was yours for good nether fractional the terms of an Italian V12. The waiting database was enormous.

Jaguar XJ-S (1975)

There was nary escaping the disappointment of the XJ-S, this sleek, oddly styled high-speed cruiser an indirect replacement for the legendary E-type sports car.

Jaguar XJ-S (1975)

Equally unescapable, however, was the information that the XJ-S did the svelte long-distance coupe happening amended than immoderate German oregon Italian rival, for a fraction of the price. Thus redeeming you capable to substance its voracious appetites.

Leyland P76 (1973)

By the aboriginal 1970s, Australians had developed a sensation for big, American-style V8 saloons pugnacious capable for outback survival. Leyland Australia took connected GM's Holden, Ford and Chrysler with the P76, a immense saloon susceptible of swallowing a 44-gallon oil-drum and out-handling each its rivals. 

Leyland P76 (1973)

But mediocre prime and the accomplishment of a BL axe-man saw Aussie Wheels magazine’s car of the twelvemonth victor killed conscionable 18 months aft launch, unneurotic with the Sydney mill that built it.

MGB GT V8 (1973)

It took tuner Ken Costello to show the feasibility, and appeal, of squeezing the Rover 3.5 V8 beneath the MGB’s bonnet, a conversion that sliced implicit 3sec of the modular car’s 12.1sec 0-60mph clip and boosted its apical velocity to 130mph.

MGB GT V8 (1973)

It took BL 4 years to effect the aforesaid conversion; the MGB GT V8 launched successful 1973, conscionable successful clip for the sales-deadening substance crisis. Only 2691 were made, but it’s the champion MGB.

Land Rover Range Rover (1970)

An aboriginal illustration of the cross-over, combining go-anywhere upland goatery with modishly dignified elegance, enforcement car comfortableness and 100mph performance. One of a fistful of cars that kick-started the SUV craze, and 1 of respective genuine world-beaters from British Leyland. 

Land Rover Range Rover (1970)

It took the institution years to recognize what it had done and exploit it, though, and adjacent that was mostly done by the consequent owners of Land Rover. Still, uniquely successful this diagnostic it is simply a nameplate that survives to this day.

Rover SD1 (1976)

This was the car that mightiness person turned BL around. The Ferrari Daytona inspired it, astir to the constituent of copying, its lightweight V8 combined with simple, well-engineered mechanicals to terrific effect. This dramatically caller enforcement instrumentality outpointed the absorption connected each metric barroom one: quality. 

Rover SD1 (1976)

Dire materials and assembly standards undermined a large design, regular strikes and atrocious prime power turning a world-beater into a bittersweet also-ran.

Triumph 2.5 PI (1969)

Triumph and Rover pioneered the enforcement car with their 2000 saloons, Triumph cementing its UK occurrence with a clever Michelotti facelift and the evident beforehand of Lucas substance injection for its tuneful consecutive six.

This was conscionable the look BMW was pursuing, but that the Munich machines did not request the regular attendance of breakdown vans.

Triumph Dolomite Sprint (1973)

Another BMW challenger, the rear-drive 16-valve Sprint ingeniously cobbled retired of Triumph’s front-wheel thrust 1300. A vinyl roof, sexy alloys and a spoiler papered implicit the cracks, the Sprint was an appealing cut-price alternate to the BMW 20002 Tii. 

Triumph Dolomite Sprint (1973)

It besides won the British Touring Car Championship. Well-regarded, but BL failed to make oregon nutrient a replacement.

Triumph Stag (1970)

Turning an elegant, four-door saloon into a inactive much elegant 2+2 convertible was inspired, the substitution of the Triumph 2000’s consecutive six for a woofling 3.0 V8 completing this delectable confection. Until the Triumph V8 boiled up that is, the wrongly placed somesthesia sensor threatening the full engine.  

Triumph Stag (1970)

That was capable to guarantee that the Stag bombed successful the US. It was and inactive is amended looking than the modern Mercedes SL that it undercut, but prime ever wins.

Triumph TR8 (1979)

The wildly idiosyncratic (or weirdly individual) TR7 was improved by decapitation, and spectacularly truthful with the substitution of its Triumph slant 4 for a Rover V8. 

Triumph TR8 (1979)

Power, show and the dependable way improved immeasurably, and with small interaction connected the car’s tidy handling, truthful airy was the alloy V8. Another promising BL exemplary prematurely culled.

Wolseley 2200 (1975)

As updates spell the replacement of the Austin 1800/2200 by the 18/22 Series was arsenic melodramatic arsenic replacing an antique horsehair-stuffed four-poster with a heated waterbed.

Inspired by the 1970 Zanda conception car, this startling wedge of a saloon won bully reviews and a agelong waiting database earlier engineering faults did for it.