Tag: classic car
-
Austin 1800 & 2200 Landcrab: UK History & Buying Guide
The Austin and Morris 1800/2200 “Landcrab” turned Alec Issigonis’s front-wheel-drive thinking into a large family saloon. Wider than many rivals, exceptionally roomy and famous for long-distance rally toughness, ADO17 was far more accomplished than its unconventional proportions suggested. At a glance UK sales: 1964–1975 Body: four-door saloon Engines: 1.8-litre B-Series four; 2.2-litre E-Series six from…
-
Austin Maestro: UK History, Specifications & Buying Guide
The Austin Maestro was British Leyland’s clean-sheet answer to the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Escort: a roomy five-door hatchback whose sensible packaging sat alongside ambitious electronics, a talking dashboard and a remarkably broad engine range. At a glance UK sales: 1983–1994 as Austin/Rover production, with later Ledbury cars Body: five-door hatchback; two-door commercial van Engines:…
-
Austin Metro: UK History, Models & Buying Guide
The Austin Metro was launched in 1980 as “a British car to beat the world”. Compact, roomy and unmistakably home-grown, it became one of the defining cars of 1980s Britain and gave British Leyland the modern supermini it desperately needed. At a glance UK sales as an Austin: 1980–1990 Body: three-door hatchback; five-door from 1984;…
-
Austin 18-22 Series & Princess: UK History, Specifications & Buying Guide
The Austin 18-22 Series and the later Princess were among British Leyland’s boldest family cars: a dramatic Harris Mann wedge with front-wheel drive, Hydragas suspension and an exceptionally spacious cabin. The shape promised the future, even though the car underneath mixed advanced ideas with familiar B-Series and E-Series power. At a glance UK sales: 1975–1981…