Austin 3-litre

Austin 3 - liter ( 1967-1971 )

The Austin 3- liter ( known internally ADO61 ) was a four-door sedan in the upper middle class, the Austin Motor Co.. 1967 offered as a successor to the Austin A110.

Model history

He was provided with the six-cylinder in-line engine of its predecessor with 2912 cc capacity which, at a compression ratio of 9: 1 114 bhp developed (85 kW) at 4500 rpm and 157 lbf (213 Nm) at 2500 rpm. The engine was mounted longitudinally and drove the suspended trailing arms rear wheels through a fully synchronized four-speed gearbox and a propeller shaft, so that the interior was somewhat limited because of the center tunnel. The front wheels were individually suspended on two unequal length wishbones, was steered by a rack and pinion. The vehicle had the " hydrolstic " rubber suspension with hydraulic leveling system. Body parts came from the middle class series BMC ADO17 (eg Austin, 1800). The passenger compartment including doors and glazing was taken; but the bottom group was different and the 3- liter was extended at the bow and stern, so that showed larger overhangs. The car had dual headlights and taillights narrow. He reached a top speed of 161 km / h

Special versions

The Body Shop Crayford Engineering realized a wagon version based on the 3- Litre, which was produced in 15 copies.

Volume of production

The Austin 3- liter was not a successful car. In 1972 the production of the model was discontinued after only 9992 copies without successors. The Austin 2200 replaced the 3- liter, but had a much weaker engine.

Analysis of failure

The reasons for the failure of the Austin 3 - liter were manifold:

  • In many cases, design and construction deficiencies are cited as reasons. The form was already outdated at the launch of the car; Motor magazine considers it fit more in the late 1950s than in the late 1960s. The similarity to the smaller, low-cost models of ADO17 series was also a hindrance for such an expensive car.
  • The performance of the car was too weak. The acceleration of the heavy and equipped with a lazy automatic transmission car was no better than a standard Mini.
  • The 3- liter was integrated unconvincing in the model range of the British Leyland Motor Corporation ( BLMC ). He had been in the group were numerous alternatives with six-and eight-cylinder engines, the more attractive and at least as well designed. Among them were the Rover P5 and the Triumph 2500 TC. Critics later came to the conclusion BLMC 've been using the 3- liter constructed a superfluous car and a market niche served that did not exist.

Trivia

During the already quite large Austin 1800 nicknamed Landcrab (German: land crab ) wore the even larger 3- liter Land Lobster was (German: northern lobster ) called.

Car classification Curb weight Austin 8 Austin 10 Austin 12 Austin 15 hp Austin 15/20 Austin 18/24 Austin Twenty Austin 25/30 Austin 40 hp Austin A30 Austin A35 Austin A40 Austin A70 Morris Marshal Austin Sheerline Austin Princess Austin Ambassador Austin Cambridge Austin de Luxe Austin Freeway Austin Kimberley Austin Maestro Austin Maxi Austin Montego Austin Westminster Austin FX3 Austin FX4 Morris Commercial J-type Austin Ant Austin Champ Austin Gipsy Austin K2/Y Austin K5 Austin Loadstar
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