Austin 1800

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Under the model designation Austin 1800 , the British automobile manufacturer British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Motor Holdings (BMH) and British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC) sold two different generations of a four-door mid-range sedan from 1964 to 1975, the 1.8 liter large four-cylinder engine. A variant equipped with a 2.2-liter six-cylinder engine had the designation Austin 2200 in both generations . Parallel to the two Austin models, the manufacturer offered the technically and stylistically identical versions Morris 1800 and Morris 2200 . Stylistically alienated versions were finally found under the Wolseley brand, which is also part of the BMC Group .

First generation: The Landcrab

1st generation
(ADO17)
Austin 1800 (1969)

Austin 1800 (1969)
Production period: 1964-1975
Engines: 1.8 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine
Length: 4190 mm
Width: 1690 mm
Height: 1400 mm
Wheelbase : 2690 mm
Empty weight : 1190 kg

The first generation of the Austin 1800 was a member of the BMC ADO17 model family. The stylistically idiosyncratic vehicle was and is mocked in the English-speaking world as Landcrab (land crab).

Innovative design features

The predecessor of the Austin 1800 was the Austin A60 Cambridge ( ADO38 ), a four-door notchback sedan presented in 1959, which had a body designed by Pininfarina and was powered by a four-cylinder engine with 1.6 liter displacement installed lengthways at the front. The Cambridge was considered a conservative construction. In contrast, the 1800, Austin's version of the ADO17, was one of the most advanced mid-range models of its time. It broke with all the main design features of its conventional predecessor. In its design, the BMC engineers had transferred the structural features of the Mini and the small car ADO16 (e.g. Austin 1100) to the middle class. The central objective of all these series, which were largely designed by Alec Issigonis , was optimal use of space. This led to unusual proportions of the body. The ADO17 had a very long wheelbase for the middle class, which contrasted with short overhangs. Front-wheel drive was introduced in the middle class with the ADO17; Unique in this class was an engine that was installed transversely at the front, which enabled a short front construction. Overall, the Austin 1800 was shorter, but at the same time wider, heavier, stronger and significantly more expensive than the Cambridge.

Body and technology

The Austin 1800 was only available as a four-door sedan with a (indicated) notchback. The car was powered as standard by a 1.8 liter four-cylinder B-series engine from BMC, which was already used in a similar form in the MGB sports car . In the course of the production time there were different power levels: Initially the engine made 84 bhp (62 kW). With it, the Austin 1800 reached a top speed of 143 km / h. With a slightly more powerful engine (86 bhp / 63 kW) and a top speed of 149 km / h, the Austin 1800 Mk II appeared in 1968 . A year later, the Austin 1800 S (and its counterpart Morris 1800 Mk II S ) with 96 bhp (70.5 kW) and 159 km / h top speed was offered. In 1972 the Austin 1800 Mk III finally appeared, which replaced the Mk II model. With 87 bhp (64 kW) it reached a top speed of 146 km / h.

The engine stood across the front. The gearbox was underneath, driving the front wheels. The radiator was on the left side along the direction of travel. The entire drive unit was located in front of the front axle. The Austin 1800 had individually suspended wheels on all sides , on double wishbones at the front and drawn swing arms at the rear . The spring elements of the Hydrolastic suspension were installed horizontally, at the top at the top across the engine and longitudinally at the rear. One of the technical innovations was a brake force regulator .

BMC produced three series of the Austin 1800, which differed from each other primarily through modifications in the area of ​​the engine.

production

The Austin 1800 received much praise from the press when it was launched. In 1965 it was Car of the Year in Europe . Regardless of this, like its sister models by Morris and Wolseley, it was not successful in the market. BMC had hoped for an annual production of 200,000 vehicles (for the entire ADO17 series), in fact only about 20 percent of that could be realized. In eleven years, a total of 221,000 copies of the Austin 1800 and its sister model 2200 were built. This made the Austin the most successful variant of the ADO17 series. The technically and stylistically identical Morris, which came on the market a year and a half after the Austin, was only produced 105,000 times. The lack of success of the model meant that BMC kept the predecessor model Austin Cambridge, which the Austin 1800 was supposed to replace, in parallel until 1971.

Export names

The Austin 1800s manufactured in Great Britain were given different names in some export markets. In Belgium and the Netherlands the car was referred to as the Austin Balanza , in Australia as the Austin Freeway and Denmark as the Austin Windsor (1964 to 1966). The latter was replaced from 1966 by the Morris 1800, which was given the name Morris Monaco in Denmark .

Second generation: The Wedge

2nd generation
(ADO71)
Austin 1800 (1975)

Austin 1800 (1975)
Production period: 1975
Engines: 1.8 liter four-cylinder gasoline engine
Length: 4460 mm
Width: 1730 mm
Height: 1400 mm
Wheelbase : 2670 mm
Empty weight : 1160 kg

The second generation of the Austin 1800 was a member of the BMC ADO71 series. It was only offered under this name from March to September 1975.

The first thoughts on a new mid-range model went back to 1975. Based on the experience with the ADO17, the company management decided to position the new model in a slightly higher market segment so that it could compete with the Vauxhall Victor or Opel Rekord , the Peugeot 504 or the Ford Granada . While retaining the drive concept of the ADO17, Harris Mann designed a completely new, emphatically wedge-shaped body, which was responsible for the nickname The Wedge . The Wedge was a four-door hatchback sedan. Like the previous model, it did not have a large tailgate, but only a small trunk lid that was struck below the rear window. The Wedge took over the engine from the previous models, i. That is, a 1.8-liter four-cylinder and a 2.2-liter six-cylinder engine were again available.

First, BLMC followed the concept of badge engineering again , so that the new mid-range model presented in March 1975 was offered as Austin, Morris and Wolseley. The Austin and Morris versions were given the model names 1800 and 2200; There were only stylistic deviations in the area of ​​the radiator grille and the lighting units.

However, after BLMC merged the previously separate dealer networks of Austin and Morris in the summer of 1975, separate models for these brands became superfluous. In September 1975, the Austin 1800 and 2200 as well as the structurally identical Morris models were therefore discontinued. From October 1975, the vehicles were uniformly sold under the newly introduced Princess brand. Stylistically, the Princess corresponded to the previous Austin 1800.

The Princess or its stylistically identical successor, the Princess 2, remained in the range until 1981. The successor, which had a significantly revised body, reappeared under the Austin brand and carried the model name Ambassador . It was only produced for two years.

literature

  • David Culshaw & Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 . Veloce Publishing PLC, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6
  • Graham Robson: The Cars of BMC . Motor Racing Publications Ltd., 2nd edition 1999, ISBN 1899870415

Web links

Commons : BMC ADO17  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Development history of the ADO17 on the website www.aronline.co.uk ( Memento of the original from July 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (accessed on July 28, 2016). @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.aronline.co.uk