Austin Maestro

Austin
	Austin Maestro (1983)
maestro
Production period:	1983-1994
Class :	Compact class
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	; Otto engines : 1.3–2.0 liters ; (48–113 kW) ; Diesel engines : ; 2.0 liters ; (46–60 kW)
Length:	4060 mm
Width:	1690 mm
Height:	1420 mm
Wheelbase :	2580 mm
Empty weight :	915 kg
Previous model	Austin Allegro
successor	Rover 200 (RF)

The Austin Maestro and the sporty version derived from it, the MG Maestro, are five-door station wagons from the British Austin Rover Group . They are located in the compact class segment. In their home country they were advertised as the “British Golf”, alluding to the corresponding VW model . Production in Great Britain lasted from the beginning of 1983 to the end of 1994. After that there were still license production in Bulgaria and China . The Montego notchback sedan presented in 1984 is based on the Maestro .

History of origin

Stockpile with new maestros at the Cowley plant in Oxford (1985)

The Maestro was developed by British Leyland under the factory code LC10; later the code was changed to LM10. The LC10 / LM10 was intended to replace both the Austin Allegro and the slightly larger Maxi ; a notchback version derived therefrom (LM11) was intended as a successor to the Marina or Ital . Initial plans for the LC10 go back to 1975; In view of the economic uncertainties in the Leyland Group, there was initially only little progress. Funding for the development was only secured in 1978. The British government supported the development with substantial subsidies.

Development manager was Spen King . He decided early on for the simplest possible technical layout. In an interview he explained retrospectively: “We had no reason to build anything unnecessarily complicated.” In doing so, he also distinguished the LC10 from the elaborate and fragile Leyland models of earlier generations that were created under the direction of Alec Issigonis . Although British customers traditionally preferred notchback vehicles, development initially concentrated on the hatchback model because Leyland and Austin Rover also had their eyes on the European export market and expected to be able to sell the five-door version there. The development of the car was shaped by internal tensions, but also by political necessities. Body design in particular has been the subject of controversy.

The Maestro was introduced to the UK market in March 1983 as a five-door hatchback. Little by little it became a whole family of models. In autumn 1983 the sporty MG Maestro (autumn 1983), later the notchback model Montego (spring 1984) and its station wagon version (autumn 1984) and finally the delivery van (1985) were added.

British Leyland and Austin Rover had high hopes for the Maestro. The press expected a 25 percent share of the UK market. Such high sales figures were considered necessary to ensure the economic survival of the manufacturer. In fact, production fell well short of expectations. A (almost) six-figure annual production could only be achieved once.

When Austin Rover launched the second series of the Rover 200 , based on the Honda Concerto , in 1989 , the positioning of the maestro of almost the same size changed. It was downgraded to the base model, the retail price of which was well below that of the Rover. The car stayed in this niche on the British market until 1994. At the end of 1994, production of the Maestro and Montego models in England was discontinued after Austin Rover had previously been taken over by BMW . The third generation of the Rover 200 (type RF) introduced in autumn 1995 can be seen as an indirect successor to the model.

Model description

design

description

Maestro design (base model) by Ian Beech

Interior of a late Austin Maestro Vanden Plas with analog displays

The body design of the Maestro is an in-house design. The executive designer was Ian Beech, who worked under the direction of Chief Design Officer David Bache . In the planning phase, Beech's design was contrasted with an alternative design proposal from Harris Mann , who had previously designed the Austin Allegro and the Triumph TR7 . Pininfarina may also have been commissioned with a design proposal; there are no clear sources for this. Harris Mann's design was smoother and visually more sophisticated than Beech's work. It was widely expected that Harris Mann's draft would come into play; Ultimately, however, Bache pushed through the concept of his employee Ian Beech at Leyland management. The decision was based essentially on the reputation of Baches, who was the originator of the successful Rover models P5 , P6 and SD1 and was considered one of the most distinguished designers in Great Britain at the time. After his release in 1981, the former Rootes designer Roy Ax took over his role.

The belt line runs horizontally. The vehicle pillars are extremely thin; they allow large glass surfaces. A special feature of the Maestro, which can also be found in the notchback version and the station wagon, are the concave side surfaces of the fenders and doors. They were often the cause of criticism. Harris Mann's alternative design had smooth car sides instead. Another special feature are the bumpers painted in the vehicle color, which, with the exception of the basic models, were standard equipment. The Maestro was the first compact car to be equipped with them. In the first few months there were production delays. The cars were manufactured without bumpers and then sometimes stood on dumps for several weeks, where they waited for the delivery of suitable bumpers. In the course of 1983 the manufacturing process normalized.

The special features of the top models Austin Maestro Vanden Plas and MG Maestro were digital instruments and a talking on-board computer that gave a number of warnings acoustically. The New Zealand actress Nicolette McKenzie had recorded the announcements. After the first year of construction, however, a conventional dashboard was installed.

reviews

The design of the Maestro has been and is widely criticized. David Baches successor Roy Ax considered the Maestro design to be a "disaster" even before production began, but was unable to make any changes due to the advanced development. Ax particularly criticized the unbalanced proportions, which are characterized by a very long front and, in comparison, very short rear overhang. The design, which emerged in the late 1970s and was geared towards competitors at the time such as the VW Golf I or the Vauxhall Chevette , looked out of date by the late 1980s at the latest; it made the maestro a "dinosaur".

Motorization and power transmission

Engines

The Maestro was available with gasoline and diesel engines from 1.3 to 2.0 liters.

The smallest engine with a displacement of 1.3 liters was a variant of the so-called A-series, the first version of which had already hit the market in 1950. It was available during the entire production period.

With regard to the next higher engine version, there were initially considerations to use the E series again, the production of which had been discontinued with the Austin Allegro in 1981. There were variants with 1.5 and 1.7 liters displacement, which were rejected by the sales department: In view of the competition from continental Europe, an engine with 1.6 liters displacement was considered necessary. Within a very short time, Austin Rover developed a 1.6-liter version of the E-series, which came on the market with the designation R-series. It was optionally available in 1983 and 1984 in the Austin Maestro and with increased output as standard in the MG Maestro. The R-series engines experienced numerous problems, which included broken camshafts and carburetors prone to icing. The R series seriously damaged the maestro's reputation in the first few years. It was only offered for two years.

From 1984 the S series replaced the R series. It was a further development of the E series from the 1970s, which eliminated the main problems of the R series. It remained in the program as a motorization available for an extra charge until the Austin Maestro was discontinued in 1994. In a performance-enhanced version, it was available for six months (1984) in the MG Maestro.

A 2.0 liter version of the O series was added as the top engine in 1984. With electronic fuel injection, it became the standard engine of the MG Maestro after the S series was discontinued. In 1989 there was also a turbo-charged version for the MG.

From 1985 a diesel engine was available that Rover had developed together with Perkins Engines . Previous attempts to adopt Volkswagen turbodiesel engines have not been successful. The four-cylinder diesel was initially limited to the delivery van. It was not until 1991 that it appeared in the regular car program. A turbodiesel was available from 1992.

model series	Displacement	power	Period	Models
Austin Maestro and MG Maestro engines
A-Series	1275 cc	51 kW (69 hp)	1983-1994	Austin Maestro
A-Series	1275 cc	48 kW (65 hp)	1983-1985	Austin Maestro HLE
R-Series	1598 cc	60 kW (81 hp)	1983-1984	Austin Maestro
R-Series	1598 cc	77 kW (105 PS)	1984	MG Maestro
S-Series	1598 cc	63 kW (85 PS)	1984-1994	Austin Maestro
S-Series	1598 cc	77 kW (105 PS)	1984	MG Maestro
O-Series	1994 cc	86 kW (117 hp)	1984-1991	Austin Maestro MG Maestro 2.0 EFi MG Maestro 2.0i
O-Series	1994 cc	113 kW (154 hp)	1989-1991	MG Maestro Turbo
Perkins NA Diesel	1994 cc	46 kW (62 hp)	1985-1992	Austin Maestro Van Austin Maestro
Perkins TD Diesel	1994 cc	66 kW (90 PS)	1992-1994	Austin Maestro

Power transmission

The Austin Maestro is front-wheel drive . Different constructions were used. As a rule, they were connected to manual gearboxes that Austin Rover bought from Volkswagen . Something different only applies to the cars with the 2.0-liter engines of the O-series: Here Austin Rover used five-speed transmissions from Honda .

The MG Maestro

In 1983, the MG brand was revived for sporty versions of the LM10 . Various versions of the car were then in the program as MG Maestro until 1991. They should compete with the VW Golf GTI and the Ford Escort XR3i.

MG Maestro 2.0 EFi (1986)

MG Maestro Turbo (1989)

MG Maestro 1600

The first version of the MG Maestro was not sufficiently developed when it was introduced; the market launch took place against the advice of engineers. The MG Maestro 1600 had a 1.6-liter in-line four-cylinder R-series engine. Here it was equipped with two double carburetors from Weber , which proved to be problematic in practice. The workshops were also overwhelmed with the maintenance of the engines. For a short time, Austin Rover switched to S-series engines. After less than a year, production of the MG Maestro 1600 was stopped again in the summer of 1984. British automotive journalist Giles Chapman counts this model as one of the worst cars ever sold.

MG Maestro 2.0 EFi and 2.0i

In October 1984 the MG Maestro 2.0 EFi replaced the previous MG Maestro 1600. From 1985 the model was called the 2.0i (without the addition EFi). It had a 2.0 liter four-cylinder engine with electronic fuel injection. The performance, reliability and handling of these versions were significantly better than their predecessors. The 2.0 EFi had a manual five-speed transmission from Honda . This model remained in the program until 1991.

MG Maestro Turbo

From 1989 to 1991 the MG Maestro 2.0 EFi was given a version with a turbo engine. The basis was the well-known 2.0-liter engine, which, however, was not equipped with gasoline injection, but with carburetors. The body had attachments designed by Aston Martin Tickford . This included wide bumpers and eye-catching sills on the vehicle flanks. A total of 500 vehicles of this design were built.

License manufacturing

Chinese FAW Jiefang CA6400UA

Bulgaria

Around 2200 copies of the Maestro were made in 1995 and 1996 from kits by Rodacar in Varna , Bulgaria , a British-Bulgarian joint venture . The cars corresponded to the basic model of the British Maestro. Few cars remained in Bulgaria. Most of them were exported, especially to South America. Some of them were also delivered to Great Britain from 1996, where - mostly after being converted to right-hand drive - until 1999 by Apple 2000 Ltd. when new cars were sold.

China

In the People's Republic of China, the Maestro was produced from 2001 to 2003 as the Etsong Lubao QE6400 Ruby and the Etsong Lubao QE6440 Laird. In 2003, China FAW Group (FAW) took over the production rights and facilities. FAW offered the Maestro as a station wagon and as a van until 2006 under the name FAW Jiefang CA6400UA . In 2008, the Sichuan Auto Industry Group , also known as Yema Auto , took over the project. In 2008 the Maestro Van reappeared on the Chinese market as the Yema SQJ6450 . Maestro technology also forms the basis of the Yema F99, F10 and F12 SUV models.

Rebirth

A Maestro completed by Parkway Services and first registered in 1999

A rebirth of the Austin Maestro in Great Britain resulted from the British-Bulgarian joint venture Rodacar at the turn of the millennium. By the time Rodacars ceased operations in the spring of 1996, Austin Rover had produced more CKD kits than Rodacars could buy. The remaining kits were initially stored. In 1997 Trans European Trading took over 621 of these kits and gradually had them completed by Parkway Services in Ledbury , Herefordshire . The finished vehicles were sold as new in the UK through 2001 at a price of £ 4,995.

literature

James Taylor: British Leyland: The Cars, 1968-1986 , The Crowood Press, 2018, ISBN 9781785003929 .

Web links

Commons : Austin Maestro - collection of images, videos and audio files

Commons : MG Maestro - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e History of the Austin Maestro on the website of the British Maestro & Montego Owners Club (accessed April 5, 2019).
↑ ^a ^b History of the development of the Austin Maestro on the website www.aronline.co.uk (accessed April 5, 2019).
↑ Design history of the Austin Maestro on the website www.aronline.co.uk (accessed April 5, 2019).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d James Taylor: British Leyland: The Cars, 1968-1986 , The Crowood Press, 2018, ISBN 9781785003929 .
↑ Giles Chapman: The worst cars ever sold . The History Press, Stroud 2011, ISBN 978-0-7509-4714-5 .

[Club-1] History of the Austin Maestro on the website of the British Maestro & Montego Owners Club (accessed April 5, 2019).

[ARonline-2] History of the development of the Austin Maestro on the website www.aronline.co.uk (accessed April 5, 2019).

[3] Design history of the Austin Maestro on the website www.aronline.co.uk (accessed April 5, 2019).

[Taylor-4] James Taylor: British Leyland: The Cars, 1968-1986 , The Crowood Press, 2018, ISBN 9781785003929 .

[5] Giles Chapman: The worst cars ever sold . The History Press, Stroud 2011, ISBN 978-0-7509-4714-5 .