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 world was shocked in 1980, when the William Towns-styled supercar-slaying Aston Martin Bulldog was unveiled. Was it good enough to beat the likes of the Lamborghini Countach and Ferrari […]
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 […]
Worthing-based International Automotive Developments (IAD) decided to raise its profile with a TR7 facelift project called the IAD TRX… The design consultancy came up with was a very 1980s incarnation […]
The Rover SD1 Estate is a fascinating study into how it is possible to convert a sporting fastback into a usable estate car. It was deemed so successful in terms […]
A brief look at how the ground-breaking Mini made it from sketch pad to showroom in little more than two years, a remarkable achievement for a car that completely threw […]
The last chance saloon: How MG Rover tried to create a new medium-sized car from the underpinnings of the Rover 75. […]
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 […]
The Triplex 10-20 Glassback is an AROnline favourite, and that’s because it looks as bold today as it did when it made its debut at the 1978 British Motor Show. […]
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