Development story

On the trail of the enigmatic Argyll Who says the ‘Car Guessing Game’ is no more than a bit of pointless froth? Not long ago, in a Celtic riposte on […]

The Austin Ambassador was a late-life facelift of the Princess, which added the versatility of a hatchback. In addition to this, it gained new styling and a fresh, 1980s-style interior. […]

The Jaguar E-type redefined people’s expectations of what could be expected from a relatively affordable sports car – race-car handling and a potential 150mph. It rightly defined a generation, and […]

The BMC 1100/1300 was a world-beater from the get go. At the very least, it became a British institution, becoming the country’s best-selling car for much of the 1960s and […]

Featuring five-door supercar-aping styling, and one of the nicest engine notes ever to grace an executive car, the Rover SD1 has a place in the hearts of many car enthusiasts […]

Thirty years ago, Austin Rover Group unveiled the MG Maestro Turbo, which at launch was the fastest accelerating MG road car ever built. David Morgan tells the story behind the […]

In 1974, Leyland’s Italian subsidiary Innocenti introduced a rebodied, three-door hatchback Mini, styled by Bertone. However, within a year of its launch, BLMC went bankrupt, the company was sold to […]

In 1973, Leyland Australia announced that all former Austin and Morris cars would be replaced by a sweeping range of new Leyland-badged cars. Keith Adams tells the Leyland P76 development […]

The Montego development story tells the tale of how the long-overdue replacement for the Austin Ambassador and Morris Ital came into being. However, the Montego failed to realise its potential due to […]

‘All the fives’ was the Maxi’s high technology tag line when launched – with a five-door hatchback body and five-speed gearbox, Austin’s new mid-range fighter really did seem to have […]

The MGF was an appealing mid-engined sports car that showed genuine engineering flair when it was launched – thanks to the use of VVC and Hydragas suspension. […]

In March 2001, Jaguar launched its most ambitious car, a new compact executive saloon to battle the BMW 3 Series, completing Jaguar’s three-tier saloon range. Keith Adams provides an insight […]

Mark Paget tells the incredibly detailed story of Leyland Australia’s very own Land Rover GAME. It’s an upmarket version of the existing Series III short-wheelbase model with one or two interesting […]

It changed the way we looked at small cars almost overnight, and sent the designers scurrying back to the drawing boards – the Mini was little short of a major […]

Sold briefly by Chrysler UK over here, the Matra-Simca Bagheera was a sweet little sports car that deserved so much more success than it achieved. […]