BMC ADO17
| BMC ADO17 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | BMC |
| Production: | 1964–1975 |
| Successor: | Leyland Princess |
| Class: | FF midsize car |
| Body Styles: | 4-door saloon |
| Engines: | 1.8 L B-Series I4 |
| Austin 1800 | |
| The "landcrab" - Austin 1800 press release photo | |
| Production: | 1964–1975 210,000 produced |
| Predecessor: | Austin Cambridge |
| Morris 1800 | |
| Production: | 1966–1975 118,271 produced |
| Predecessor: | Morris Oxford VI |
| Wolseley 18/85 | |
| Production: | 1967–1972 35,597 produced |
| Predecessor: | Wolseley 16/60 |
The Austin 1800 was a saloon car built by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) from September 1964 to 1975 and colloquially known as the 'Landcrab'. The 1800 was voted European Car of the Year for 1965.
It was developed at BMC as the large-car follow-up to the successful Mini and Austin 1100 under the ADO17 codename.
The car was unconventional in its appearance in 1964, with its large glasshouse and spacious, minimalist interior. Both Alec Issigonis and Pininfarina worked on its exterior.
A Morris 1800 version followed soon after the Austin one, with the badge engineered Wolseley 18/85 launching in 1967.
In 1969, the doors from the 1800 were used on the bodyshell of the otherwise new Austin Maxi.
It spawned numerous models. The Australian Austin Kimberley and Morris Tasman X6 models of 1970 were based on the 1800 platform and retained the same doors. These cars had a 2.2-litre straight-six engine, which eventually made it into the British ADO17s in 1972. The British six-cylinder models were known as the Austin 2200, Morris 2200 and Wolseley Six. The same doors even appeared on the very upmarket Austin 3-Litre of 1967 and, at prototype stage, Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.
A design oversight meant that the car was too wide to be transported down a covered track between different parts of the Longbridge factory. Consequently unpainted body-shells were exposed to the elements when they were moved between buildings. This often resulted in poor quality paint-work and inherent rust.
The 1800 and 2200 were not sales successes. In 1975, all three models were replaced by the wedge-shaped ADO71, or 18-22 series, which bore the same names at Austin and Morris (1800 and 2200), but the Wolseley variant had, officially, no model name. Eventually, all three became the Leyland Princess.