Austin Allegro 1100 DL

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The British car buying public are an odd lot. Put them behind the wheel of modern Audi with a square steering wheel and they don’t bat an eyelid, but when BL tried it in the Allegro in 1973 it was as if they’d replaced the steering wheel with a live grenade without a pin!

The ‘quartic’ steering wheel was not the only thing that raised eyebrows with the new car. Its bulbous styling was deliberately different, BLs management preferring it to a stylish wedge-shaped design along the lines of the elegant Princess, the justification being that the forthcoming ‘E’ series engine wouldn’t fit.

The general idea was that the Austin brand would follow Citroen’s lead, offering quirky looking cars that people bought because they were bristling with clever and innovative features. A good enough idea, except that these features (other than the steering wheel) were conspicuous by their absence in the new car, the drive-train bearing a remarkable resemblance to the outgoing 1100/1300 range.

The distinctive shape became infamous for having a better drag co-efficient going backwards than forwards, although quite where this malicious rumour came from nobody knows. The car was given a rough ride by the press who had it in for BL’s management and militant workforce. Rumours about rust quickly gathered pace, which was unfair because despite the car’s many failings, rampant corrosion wasn’t one of them.

All this paints a gloomier picture than was really the case at the time, for 642,000 Allegros found willing buyers, the car rarely moving out of the top-10 best sellers list. It’s a shame that BL hadn’t had the foresight to make it into a proper hatchback, a style which by then was driving the bulk of sales in its market segment and would have made it into a sure-fired winner.

The Allegro 2 arrived in 1975 with a revised grille and more interior space, the final Allegro rolling off the lines in 1982 when the less contentious and actually rather good Maestro arrived.

This 1979 1100 DL uses the familiar 4-speed box / A-series 1098cc engine combination. A cramped installation when fitted to a Mini, it looks lost in the larger bodied Allegro which makes it very easy to work on.

The vendor has spent a considerable amount of time and money on the vehicle, its most recent MOT expiring as recently as August 2014. Part of a large collection of ‘70s and ‘80s British Leyland collectables, it has been laid up for the last year or so and will require light recommissioning before use.

An emerging cult machine, there is a certain heroic optimism associated with these ‘70s and early ‘80s BL produced cars which makes them strangely attractive to people of a certain age - like us!

Bidders are advised that this car was recorded as a Category C insurance loss in July 2010.