Austin Maxi

Austin Maxi 1750 HL (1972 )

The Austin Maxi (Internal BMC ADO14 ) was a five-door mid-sized car, which developed by the British Motor Corporation ( BMC) and by the British Leyland Motor Corporation ( BLMC ) 1969-1981 in relatively small numbers ( 472 098 units) built and from 1977 as Leyland Maxi was offered. The model replaced the Austin A60.

The car was the final design by Alec Issigonis, the creator of the Mini. There were engine variants 1485-1748 cc with 54-68 kW of power. The Maxi was an extremely spacious car, but had its styling due to the unfavorable proportions never particularly attractive. Especially the doors, which were taken from the next larger model ADO17, have likely contributed to this. In addition, the car was not sufficient power to the 1500s engine initially offered exclusively. The circuit was in the first years of construction also as pronounced imprecise.

Also, the model was never designed with special comfort to avoid competition with the equivalent, but in the model range above settled Austin 1800/2200. In addition, the Maxi suffered from a very poor build quality, which - according to sound Lohmann in vintage Catalogus 2003 ( NL) - many of its owners said to have driven to madness. In contrast, Alec Issigonis was at the launch in 1800 claimed as predecessors of the Maxi in a newspaper, that this, as its ultimate design, would still run in large numbers in 2000. It was also considered him to mass production in the Soviet Union to offer as an alternative to Fiat 124, later Lada.

Tony Holmes, author of British Cars Encyclopedia knows to report that in the mid- 70s were stored due to difficulties in selling thousands of unsold Maxis in aircraft hangars. The 1748 cc engine of the car was the first new development of BLMC since 1954.