A brief history of the P76 sedan's development, and its make-up; was it a car to succeed in Australia?
The Michelotti styled Leyland P76 could have swept away all before it: the styling was right for the time and place, the V8 engined version was strong, and a promising range of upcoming variations meant the P76 could have done nothing but succeed.
So, what went wrong? Two factors: the ill-health of the parent company in the UK and the poor build quality of the cars assembled in Australia (look in the gallery for an example of this). The P76: another BL lost opportunity, I’m afraid.
Leyland P76
A brief history of the P76 sedan's development, and its make-up; was it a car to succeed in Australia? |
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Leyland P76 Force 7
The coupe version of the P76 had a lot going for it... because of the troubles the Leyland encountered, we were never to find out just how successful it could have been. |
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Leyland P82
The P76's junior; sadly this promising car did not make it into production. |
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Leyland P76 gallery
A couple of nice colour images of the P76 at rest and in flight. |
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Tested: Leyland P76
Richard Gunn travels to Australia and drives the iconic Leyland P76... |
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Leyland P76 in the UK
The P76 was seriously evaluated for sale in the UK. It never happened, but this magazine article described what happened when journalists drove the car in the UK. |
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Car of the Month, August 2002
There can't be many P76 owners in the UK, but Dave Eadon is one of them, and his Targa Florio P76 was the subject of this Car of the Month feature. |
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WHEELS article
The obscure P82, intended to replace the Marina in Australia, never really made it far beyond the drawing board. This 1973 article from Wheels magazine gives an insight into the car's development. |
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