Concepts and prototypes

Keith Adams on the ADO22, a little-known project to update and refresh the BMC 1100/1300 for the 1970s. Sadly, it didn’t make the cut, and needed to make way for […]

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 […]

Shortly after the formation of Talbot in 1979, PSA decided to go on all-out attack; setting aside the brand as the company’s premier motor sports division. In 1981, the Talbot […]

Robert Leitch tells the story of the amazing ADO30 – a grand tourer that sprung out of a design competition before coming close to replacing the Austin-Healey 3000. The ‘Fireball XL-5’ proved to be a victim of internal politics, tight budgets, and more pressing problems for parent company BMC. But still, it would have been wonderful… […]

Here’s a precious one – produced at the Proto-Build Shop at Canley in 1987, this MG Maestro Turbo that AROnline owned in 2007 is a one of a kind… Here’s the […]

The biggest criticism normally aimed at the Maxi – other than the early model’s obstructive gearchange – is usually reserved for its plain Jane styling. The Aquila showed how it could have been made into a far more stylish beast. Alas, it was only ever to be a one-off styling exercise. […]

Steve Harper has a fundamental role in the genesis of the MGF, which under his direction was transformed from a neat little roadster, lacking a splash of creativity, to a shapely new-age sports car that shouted its mid-engined layout from the rooftops. In his own words, Steve walks us through the design changes he made. […]

The ALCAN/Austin Rover Aluminium Metro was an interesting project – it was a feasibility study into the full-scale production of a supermini in this lightweight material, as pushed for by […]

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 […]

The star of the 1977 Motorfair at Earls Court in London was the sensational six-wheeled Panther supercar. For a while it looked like it was going into production, too, but […]

Work on the promising MG ADO21 began in Abingdon in 1968, following the formation of BLMC. The E-Series powered mid-engined sports car had the looks of a Ferrari, but was […]

Keith Adams tells the story of the AR18, a short-lived proposal to replace the Rover 800 with an altogether more adventurously-styled saloon and two-door coupe. AR18/R16: The missing Rover Back in […]

The Triumph-Morris TM1 was the last throw of the dice for the ill-fated SD2 platform, and the overall concept was extended to replace both the Morris Marina and Triumph Dolomite […]

Thoughts on replacing the E-type weren’t limited to the V12-powered XJ-S grand tourer. Jaguar was also cooking up this potentially pretty sports car to supplement the new and exciting XJ6 […]

It is well known that MG Rover and China Brilliance were in talks about the co-development of a new generation of executive cars. For the first time, AROnline tells the […]

Keith Adams gives the Internet’s most detailed account of the Triumph SD2. What it should have looked like, what lay under the skin and, ultimately, why it was cancelled so late […]