What’s left to be said about the Allegro – it never met sales predictions, earned a terrible reputation in the press and with buyers, and its fame far exceeded its influence in the automotive industry. British Leyland threw everything into making it a success, and yet failed dismally… […]
The Range Rover’s launch in 1970 came after a long lead-up as the company grappled with the issue of building an additional model that was more-road focused than the agricultural […]
Into the future, with Spen King ‘The next Rover model will be very much a Rover car. It will be better than previous Rovers. A lot better, actually.’ Rover-Triumph head […]
An interview with the man behind many of the company’s greatest cars – and a few that you might not immediately associate with him…. Interviewed by Keith Adams, 13th December […]
Ian Nicholls recounts the life and achievements of Rover engineering genius, Peter Wilks. […]
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 […]
Keith Adams recalls Sir Michael Edwardes, the Chairman and Chief Executive of British Leyland’s turbulent ride at the top of the company. It might have been a rough ride for […]
The Mini is 60 years old this week. The AROnline development story tells the tale of how this small car changed the way we looked at economy cars almost overnight. […]
George Turnbull was a key player in the British Leyland story following its formation in 1968, but was never given the top job which he so richly deserved. His was […]
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. […]
In this article dated 21 June 1971 from The Guardian, Lord Stokes gives vent about the present and future of British Leyland Motor Corporation. It’s more of a stream of consciousness […]
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. […]
After enjoying a motor industry career spanning six decades – most of it with Rover – long-serving public relations boss, Denis Chick, has finally decided to hang up his automotive […]
Here’s an intriguing documentary on the early years of the Hyundai Motor Company, and how former Austin-Morris Managing Director, George Turnbull, spearheaded the creation of this car manufacturing giant in […]
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 […]
Sir Alec Issigonis: an insight into the great man, from an interview originally published in Autocar magazine to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Mini. […]
The Harold Musgrove interview is the one you’ve been waiting for. He was Chairman of the Austin Rover Group between 1982 and ’86, and now he shares his unique insight […]
Now widely seen as a joke car by the general public, who misunderstood the market it was aimed at, the Morris Marina sold well in comparison with its British Leyland stablemates. How successful […]
Timo Makinen, legendary Finnish rally driver has died, aged 79. Among his achievements was a hat-trick of wins in the RAC Rally driving the Ford Escort, but he is perhaps best remembered as one of the of the ‘three musketeers’ of the British Motor Corporation’s works rally team in the 1960s – alongside fellow Finn Rauno Aaltonen and Ulsterman Paddy Hopkirk. […]
On 26 April 1977, the Ryder Report was submitted for government approval. In it, were detailed breakdowns of what funding British Leyland would need, both to survive in the short term, and then deliver in the more distant future. […]
Ian Nicholls examines the time when Tony Benn’s political career intersected with that of British Leyland. Benn was well-intentioned for his plans for the Government-controlled carmaker, but events conspired against […]
Former Classic Car Weekly Features Editor, and Allegro and Princess owner, Richard Gunn talks to Harris Mann about his life and career. Interestingly, Mann confesses that not even he liked the Quartic wheel… […]
BMC changed the world with the launch of the Mini in 1959. It was created in response to a crisis and was a genius piece of packaging which will forever be Sir Alec Issigonis’ legacy to the automotive world. However, as we all know, it was no profit-maker for BMC and, during its hyper-successful first decade on the market, its maker cruelly – and criminally – failed to develop the concept into something that the customers truly wanted – a hatchback. […]
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