ADO16 was without a doubt Britain's best selling medium saloon car for nine years. Here you'll find the reasons why BMC needed to introduce the new model.

British Leyland certainly had themselves a popular model on their hands, however when they pulled the plug and replaced the ADO16 they took a backwards step. Sure ADO16 was dated, but so too was the Mini.

A collection of ADO16 prototypes. Thanks to the management of BMC/British Leyland these vehicles never made it into production!

Thankfully the clay models don't survive to this day! Although, the example shown on the left does look swish with the shorter grille and invisible bumper mounting.

While the history pages detail ADO16's life, the timeline provides the key model and, where appropriate, important company changes.

The timeline has been complied from a variety of sources and, as with most thrillers, there is always new information coming to light - therefore it may not be 100% accurate.

It wasn't just a case of designing the car, selling it and claiming it was Britain's best selling medium sized saloon car. There was all the hard work done producing the cars at factories throughout Britain.

We take a closer look at the production methods used, and follow the production line from beginning to end.

When people see the 1100/1300 in whichever guise you always hear the phrase "We used to have one of those...". The ADO16 was without a shadow of doubt Britain's best seller.

Now the proof... figures gathered for this page show that the ADO16 was on the top spot for 10 of it's 12 year life. That's not bad for a car prone to rust problems.

If you were looking to buy your first ADO16 and didn't have the necessary capital to be able to fund project. Then UDT could help!

Yes, car credit was around in 1962. And not the same Yes, car credit that has just gone bankrupt!

When you come to piece together information from sources why do things differ so greatly? I've tried to use accurate figures when compiling the Production figures page... however things don't appear to add up.

If you can help with the breakdown of each model I'd be interested in hearing from you.

These photographs were all released to the Press to use in various articles for the launch of that model.

You will note that the cars are shown in the best possible surroundings, and of course haven't been driven to that location.

So, you've had the "perfect" press pictures. Now time to bring the humble ADO16 down to earth with a bump. Everything from a dirty weekend, to asking the bloke next door.

Ohh Matron, what next?

Perhaps the most comprehensive model listing on the internet, even if I do say so myself. Covering everything built from Australia to Spain.

Well worth a click...

During the ADo16s short run in the US, it still managed to be present in four various guises. There was the MG 1100, MG Princess, Austin 1100, and Austin America.

Just 154 MG Princesses were made... not many when you consider how difficult it was to get hold of a Vanden Plas in the UK.

Not only was the Morris 1100 available in Australia you could also get the Morris 1300, Morris 1500, and a Nomad - all some what modified for outback conditions.

It's a shame that we had the Maxi in the UK. The Nomad could have been a viable alternative.

An interesting slant on the production of the ADO16. Chile used fibre glass to build their MG 1300.

Maybe British Leyland could have applied the same technique in the UK? It probably wouldn't have allowed many more vehicles to survive anyway...

Innocenti made some very stylish alterations to Pinninfarina's original ADO16. My favourite model is the Innocenti I4 model that shares a similar grille to that found on the UK Morris 1100 models.

It's quite interesting to see that the 1971 Innocenti I5 took some of the UK Mk3 traits such as the Matt Black radiator grille.

Spain is more commonly known for it's flamenco dancing, however to those interested in the ADO16 we perhaps better know the Spanish for their production of the Austin Victoria.

Did you know they also produced a 998cc ADO16 badged as an "Austin De Luxe"?

South Africa didn't just produce the Austin Apache, there was also a range of 11/55 models.

Similar to the Victoria, that was produced in Spain, the Apache featured a bonnet and boot set up similar to that of the Triumph Dolomite and was sold until 1977!

When the press get their hands on a product then can either pull it to pieces or praise it like mad. The ADO16 always received a mixed set of comments. The best quote is, "Glue staining on the interior". - Most British Leyland products were the same...

Autocar obviously hadn't realised this was the "norm".

Long before the glass fibre ADO16 was available in Chile the first prototype was developed at Longbridge.

How come BL never took the idea and turned it into reality in this country? Just think how many more ADO16s there could have been still running around if this had been the case...

A small batch of 1100 vans were built by BMC to see if the popular ADO16 concept could be made into a successful commercial. Unfortunately due to problems with the Hydrolastic suspension the idea was dropped.

Did you know, around 50 1100 vans were produced?

What a shame this wasn't considered more seriously! I'm all for this ADO16 replacement. One can see the resemblance to the Ford Escort with the squared off front styling.

Other revisions under the ADO22 project would have included a refined suspension system, and revamped interior.

Pinninfarina's attempt at changing the ADO16 concept and making a car the seventies could be proud of. Rubber bumpers were fitted at the front and rear to make it pedestrian friendly. Internally the passenger compartment was made safer by padding each edge.

Shame the Aerodynamic was never mass produced by British Leyland... could have done what it's done for Citröen.

A selection of links to web sites where the ADO16 is featured or the whole web site is dedicated to them.

Can't be bad.