Concepts and prototypes

The ADO88 project was BL’s attempt at creating a supermini out of the original Mini. It formed the basis of the Austin Metro […]

ADO74 – the first attempt by British Leyland at replacing the Mini never saw the light of day. It was one project, but had many faces: a wide variety of styling exercises were produced before the programme was cancelled in 1973, as British Leyland could not raise the £130m needed to produce it. […]

The most comprehensive story you’ll ever read about the aborted 9X programme – the ill-fated Mini replacement, engineered by the man who created the original. […]

Coupe rennaissance THIS was the car that Rover fans have been waiting for since the launch of the 75 in the autumn of 1998. The coupe version of what has […]

The Ital Design-styled, V8-powered Etna concept made its debut at the 1984 British Motor Show at Birmingham. It was based on the Lotus Esprit, added race-bred cutting-edge technology, and promised […]

In 1969, Austin-Morris investigated ways to increase the appeal of the slow-selling Austin 3 Litre. This Wolseley 3 Litre prototype, as photographed at the Longbridge Elephant House in 1967, was […]

The Rover 35 – codename R30 – was the one that got away. A five-door hatch that oozed class and sophistication, it was due for introduction in 2003. Instead, it was canned in 1999. […]

MG Rover was planning a revival of the Midget, a new TF and an upmarket Boxster rival – until, that is, the lights went out at Longbridge in 2005… MG […]

Ever wondered what all those ADO, YDO and LC numbers mean when we’re discussing the history of BMC, BL and Rover cars? […]

It’s interesting comparing what we think now with contemporary consensus. I like to think that, in my historic writing, I tend to err on the side of reporting the contemporary […]

The Austin Maxi ADO14 is one of few cars that received a substantial facelift before it went into production. In this case, the work followed the arrival of a new […]

Keith Adams tells the story of the Talbot Arizona, the replacement for the Horizon. It was design by the former Chrysler UK Design Team at Whitley in Coventry, and shared […]

The Leyland P82 would have supplemented the P76 and Force 7, and would have provided an up-to-date replacement for the Leyland Marina. Industry expert Jack Yan fills in the blanks […]

We love receiving emails like this one. ‘Hi, I own an Austin Metro rally car with some interesting history and thought you might like to do a story on it.’ […]

In 1970, with the launch of the Hillman Avenger in two- and four-door saloon form, as well as five-door estate, it looked like Rootes-Chrysler had a ready-made range of cars […]

The Austin Ant (development code ADO19) is an interesting car, because it was a proposed military replacement for the Mini Moke overseen by Sir Alec Issigonis that featured a clever […]

During the early 1960s, around 20 Mini Beach Cars were built by the Longbridge Experimental Department, all but one of which were in left-hand-drive form. However, there wasn’t just one […]

The Triumph Puma was in development before the formation of British Leyland, and is an interesting insight into how Triumph saw its development as a premium carmaker going into the […]

In March 1969, Rover embarked on a new project to replace the P6. The Rover P10 would last until 1971, but its influence would be far greater than its ‘cancelled’ […]

Producing safety concepts was extremely fashionable during the 1970s – Calspan and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) produced the Chrysler Alpine RSV. This was a very American take […]