The Maestro Express was conceived by Austin Rover Group following a competition staged by a national newspaper to gauge the views of female drivers about their experiences of car ownership. […]
In the mid-1980s and following the opening of Roy Axe’s new Canley Design Studio, Austin Rover Design began to rediscover its mojo after some lean years. The AR6-based MG Midget […]
The Austin Allegro was almost universally lambasted for being ugly, frumpy and undesirable looking. But the company never set out to build a willfully ugly car, as these images clearly […]
Keith Adams tells the short-and-sweet story of the Austin Allegro Equipe – a go-faster saloon that its maker sold as a homegrown alternative to the Alfa Romeo Alfasud Ti or […]
In the late-1970s, BL invested in its future by looking at the next step in engineering design. Under the leadership of Spen King, British Leyland Technology was created, and out of it came some fascinating projects, including the lightweight ECV3 prototype. […]
We don’t know much about the BMC 10X, only that Sir Alec was sketching it out around the time of the formation of BLMC. It could have been very interesting […]
Keith Adams lifts the lid on the little-known ADO76 project – Cowley’s early look at replacing the MGB. This styling sketch is all we’ve uncovered so far, but it offers […]
Ever wondered what all those ADO, YDO and LC numbers mean when we’re discussing the history of BMC, BL and Rover cars? […]
The Morris Marina was conceived in a hurry, but its Designers consoled themselves in the fact that it was only going to last five or six years… Here we reveal […]
In 1967, Joe Edwards of BMH managed to secure the services of Roy Haynes from Ford as a stylist at the new BMH/Pressed Steel styling studios at Cowley in Oxford. […]
The wraps came off the MG EX-E at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1985, and the automotive world sat up and took notice. The car was conceived to showcase AR […]
Some images from the Rover P10 programme, that would eventually sire the Rover SD1… Rover P10 concept design The Rover P10 and Triumph Puma were rival projects to build British […]
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 […]
The idea of producing a new Jaguar F-Type was on the back-burner for a long time. This attempt dates back to the 1980s, and went under the codename XJ41/XJ42. They […]
The Ford Capri Mk1 underwent a remarkably short development programme, as these images clearly show. However, more than that, the company knew what it wanted from the final product – […]
Keith Adams tells the full story of the ill-fated MG Rover RDX60 programme and explains how Longbridge tried to create a new medium-sized car from the underpinnings of the Rover […]
Here’s an interesting one recently brought to my attention. AROnline Contributor David Harvey got in touch to remind us that it wasn’t just BMC that had missed the boat to replace […]
Steve Harper talks through his involvement in shaping the MGF, as it was transformed from the F16 into the mid-engined PR3 in 1990-’91. Setting the mid-engined sports car template for […]
Central to Austin Rover’s plans for the late-1980s and into the ’90s was a fresh-looking replacement for the under-performing Montego. There were many promising design proposals, but the AR16 and […]
Keith Adams tells the story of the Rover Coupe Concept Vehicle, which acted as a showcase for Austin Rover design and starred at the 1986 Turin Motor Show. It also […]
The Land Rover Freelander underwent a rather convoluted development programme; it started out as a joint Rover Cars/Land Rover project to produce a vehicle to compete in the emerging SUV […]
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. […]
Keith Adams tells the story of the Rover 55 or R60 – the 75’s smaller brother, and part of a two-pronged attack on the premium car market for the mid-2000s. […]
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