BMC ADO16
| BMC ADO16 | |
|---|---|
Morris 1300 Mark III 1974
|
|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | |
| Production | Austin: 1963–1974 MG: 1962-1973 Morris: 1962–71 Riley: 1962-1969 Vanden Plas: 1964-1974 Wolseley: 1965-1973 |
| Designer | Sir Alec Issigonis |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Compact car / Small family car (C) |
| Body style | |
| Layout | Front engine, front-wheel drive |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 93.5 in (2,375 mm) |
| Length | 146.65 in (3,725 mm) (saloon & estate) |
| Width | 60.38 in (1,534 mm) |
| Height | 53 in (1,346 mm) |
| Kerb weight | 1,834 lb (832 kg) approx |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor |
Austin A40 Farina Riley One-Point-Five Wolseley 1500 |
| Successor |
Austin Allegro (Austin) MG Maestro (MG) Morris Marina (Morris) Vanden Plas 1500 (Vanden Plas) |
The BMC ADO16 (Amalgamated Drawing Office project number 16) is a family of economical small family cars built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and, later, British Leyland. It was launched in 1962 and for most of the next decade the ADO16 was consistently the UK's best-selling car.
The ADO16 was marketed under various make and model names including:
Although most of the cars were manufactured in England, they were also built in Spain by Authi, in Italy by Innocenti and at the company's own plant in Belgium. It was the basis for locally adapted similar cars manufactured in Australia and South Africa. Various versions including Austin, Morris, MG, Wolseley and Riley were assembled in New Zealand and Malta from CKD kits from 1963 until the final Austin/Morris versions were replaced by the Allegro in 1975.
The vehicle was launched as the Morris 1100 on 15 August 1962. The range was expanded to include several rebadged versions, including the twin-carburettor MG 1100 (introduced at the end of September 1962), the Austin 1100 (August 1963), the Vanden Plas Princess 1100 (1964), and finally the Wolseley 1100 (1965) and Riley Kestrel (1965). The Morris badged 1100/1300 was replaced by the Morris Marina in 1971, but Austin and Vanden Plas versions remained in production in the UK until June 1974.
The estate version followed in 1966, called Countryman in the Austin version and Traveller in the Morris one, continuing the established naming scheme. The Austin 1100 Countryman appeared in the Fawlty Towers episode "Gourmet Night", in which the short-tempered owner of Fawlty Towers Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) gave it a "damn good thrashing". This episode was first shown in October 1975.
In 1964 the 1100 was Wheels magazine's Car of the Year.
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Wikipedia