Leyland News

Surviving examples of the classic Leyland Moke may be worth serious money these days, but a new Australian firm is offering a brand new recreation of the model without the perils associated with 1960s British engineering.Moke Motors Australia has teamed up with Chinese manufacturer Chery to build an all-new but visually reminiscent version of the military-inspired but much adored original Leyland Moke.The new version pairs classic utilitarian ragtop styling with modern Chery mechanicals, and is slightly longer and slightly wider than the original to better accommodate four adults.These mechanicals include a 50kW/93Nm fuel-injected 993cc four-cylinder petrol engine and a five-speed manual or optional automatic sourced from the Chinese-market Chery QQ3 city car.The front-drive layout uses MacPherson strut suspension up front and solid-axle trailing arms at the rear, along with power steering and disk brakes up front.An electric eMoke version is also planned, with a top speed of 60km/h, range of 120km, and the ability to be recharge overnight.There are no airbags, ABS or stability control, so you may be wondering how a modern Moke would pass 2014 safety regulations? It doesn’t, but bypasses most ADRs through limited volume compliance – only 100 examples of each version can be registered per year.The modern Moke is able to be fully-registered for use on Australian roads and carries a two year/50,000km driveline warranty and five year corrosion guarantee. The man behind Moke Motors is Jim Markos, operator of Melbourne prestige used car dealership Black Rock Motors, and a 27 year veteran of the automotive industry.Markos claims that the arrangement between Moke Motors and Chery is the first time that a mainstream car manufacturer has produced vehicles under contract from a private company, and is the result of a seven year development program.He also plans to sell the new Moke in the Caribbean, Thailand and Mauritius, and has received interest from Greece, Cyprus and Turkey. Moke Motors is yet to appoint service agents for the new models, but discussions are underway to use the local Chery service network.Production is set to commence at the start of May, but the entire 2014 production run has already been presold. The first examples are set to be delivered in June and Moke Motors is taking orders for 2015.Pricing starts at a Mazda 3 Maxx-matching $22,990 before on-roads, but we reckon more than a few will be cruising the beach esplanades next summer.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

Aussie car fans and nostalgia buffs will tell you that local motoring reached its peak in the 1970s.

The first image of the new Targa variant of the Porche 911 has appeared ahead of the model's Detroit official unveiling, with the third 991-generation 911 bodystyle being let out of the bag early by industry site Inautonews. The image reaffirms the styling previewed by patent images last month, and a leaked dealer presentation last September.The new Targa will see a return to the traditional full-width roof opening and fixed Targa bar, compared with the sliding glass centre roof section of the previous three 911 generations.One likely evolution for the new model is the apparent soft roof section, which could fold away neatly to avoid the storage issues of a solid piece.Aside from the unique roof design, the 991 911 Targa is likely to mirror the existing hardtop and convertible Carrera and Carrera S, Carrera 4 and Carrera 4S two and all-wheel drive specs, with either a 257kW/390Nm 3.4-litre or 294kW/440Nm 3.8-litre flat sixes, with seven-speed manual or PDK dual-clutch auto transmissions.

Once the object of jokes, the P76 is now looked upon with fond nostalgia. Owners are fiercely protective of its reputation and are always eager to extol the car's virtues.The P76 offered features which were quite advanced for Australia at the time, including rack and pinion steering, power-assisted disc brakes, McPherson strut front suspension, front hinged bonnet, glued-in windscreen and concealed windscreen wipers.Safety equipment was ahead of impending Australian Design Rules, with recessed door handles and full-length side intrusion reinforcements. The engines were a 2.6 litre six and a 4.4 litre aluminium alloy V8.So with all of this advanced technology Leyland had high hopes of big sales and ran an advertising campaign touting the P76 as “anything but average”. A local car magazine added to the glitter when it bestowed its annual car of the year award on the automobile.So what went wrong? Well, three things stood in the way of success for Leyland-styling, fuel and money.Let's face it; the P76 was not an overly attractive car. The guy who penned it was Italian Giovanni Michelotti. His brief was to style a big car for a big country and make sure the boot could hold a 44 gallon drum. And he did. But he forgot one thing---make it look good! The P76 side view was ok with its aggressive wedge shape, but the front and rear ends looked plain and unfinished compared to its rivals.Then the Arab oil crisis hit and big cars were out of favour as buyers looked for smaller alternatives. Finally, Leyland Australia was not financially strong. Same goes for its UK parent. Development and marketing funds were in short supply. They did not have the financial grunt to compete with the Holden , Chrysler and Ford nor with their strong dealer networks and deep pockets. Inevitably, sales slowed.By the end of 1974 the writing was on the wall. The local CEO had exited and the British sent out their fix-it man, 31 year old David Abell. He wasted no time and closed the whole show down. About 16,000 P 76s were made in total. Over 5000 people lost their jobs when Leyland closed its Sydney plant.David Burrell is the editor of Retroautos.com.au 

It won't put a new car in your driveway, but it will let you modify photos of your old banger -- or any other car, ute or garbage truck, for that matter -- and turn them into funky screensavers and online avatars.You don't need any sophisticated image manipulation software.The app imports your photo, then prompts you to pinpoint the car's wheels and use them to 'slide' it nto a shortened chop-shop custom job.The app makers says Squash My Car can turn a photo of just about any vehicle into a modified beauty.A Leyland P76 was probably a challenge too hard. A shortened one just looks like ... well, a shorter Leyland P76. And there's still no beauty about it.More information can be found here.

...at Shannons Sydney Spring Classic Auction on October 10. It is one of 900 limited-edition P76s built in 1974 to commemorate the stage win of a nearly standard P76 in the 1974 World Cup Rally.Driven by Aussie Evan Green, the Australian-built, Rover V8-engined P76 surprised many with its speed in the event's `Targa Florio' stage held in Sicily, Italy. History records that the P76 was the right car at the wrong time.Built by Leyland Australia to compete head-on with the large Ford Falcon, Holden Kingswood and Chrysler Valiant family cars of the era, it won the coveted `Wheels Car of the Year' award in 1973 before the global fuel crisis put large cars of its type out of favour with buyers.Today however, the P76 is as much a symbol of 1970's style as big collars, flared trousers and platform soled shoes and is gaining appreciation as an automotive icon of the Muscle Car era.Each Targa Florio model came with a 4.4-litre all-alloy V8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering and a limited-slip differential. But only 100 were finished in Aspen Green like the very original example that Shannons is auctioning.The car's original owner worked with BMC-Leyland for over 30 years and purchased his Leyland P76 Targa Florio in October 1974. Still in excellent original condition, the vehicle has been garaged all its life and is believed to have travelled just 71,450km since new.It is being sold with a many of it original documents including its comprehensive workshop and owners manual. The P76 Targa Florio is expected to sell for $8000-$12,000. 

The first showing will be at the annual historic race meeting at Phillip Island from March 18-20.  Cars will also be displayed at the Targa Tasmania, Longford Revival other motorsport events and possibly the Australian GP. Dealerships will also show some of the cars on a timetable yet to be announced.  The free displays are being brought out to celebrate 60 years of Porsche in Australia. A highlight is the 935 Moby Dick with its long aerodynamic rear and 621kW turbocharged six-cylinder boxer engine.  The svelte coupe reached speeds up to 366km/h at Le Mans in 1978. One of the famous 956/962 race cars which won the Le Mans 24 Hour seven times between 1982 and 1994 is also part of the collection. The display car is the Rothmans 962 raced to victory in 1987 by Derek Bell, Hans Stuck and Al Holbert. The display will also include two open-top Porsches that dominated Sicily's Targo Florio road race. They are the 718 RS 60 Spyder which won in 1960 (and 36 years later won Targa Tasmania on handicap honours with Jochen Mass at the wheel) and the 908/02 Spyder which filled the first four places in 1969's Targo Florio. The 911 SC raced by Walter Rohrl in the gruelling 1980 San Remo rally completes the motorsport line-up, with the acclaimed Carrera GT road car from 2003 providing a modern touch to Porsche's past. Porsche Cars Australia managing director Michael Winkler says each car in the display is in working order.  Australia became the first right-hand-drive export market for Porsche and one of the first export markets following a chance meeting between Porsche 356 designer Ferry Porsche and entrepreneurial Australian Norman Hamilton in Gmund, Austria, in early 1951. A maroon 356 Coupe and silver 356 Cabriolet became the first Porsche exported to Australia in October that year.  Since then more than 22,100 Porsches have been sold here.  Porsche Museum ambassador Klaus Bischof will accompany the cars at some of the events.

Entitled Leyland P76: Anything but Average, the book — penned by motoring writer and historian Gavin Farmer — traces the story of the much-maligned but intriguing Leyland sedan. The 224-page book covers the post-war history of Austin, Morris and BMC, the design and development of the P76, the P76 station wagon and Force 7 coupes. The book will be available in standard hard bound edition for $85 or a special leather-bound edition at $225 (plus p&p), numbered and signed by the author. "Leyland P76: Anything but Average" can be bought direct from Ilinga books (ilingabooks@chariot.net.au) or 08 8339 3645 - or from a good motoring bookshop near you.  

The new complex, due to open in 2009, will be located at Victoria Park in Rosebery and will stand eight-storeys high. As well as becoming Audi's national headquarters, it will also feature a flagship retail showroom and customer facilities, after-sales centre and commercial space.Audi also plans to use the new facility for future events and new product launches.And the location of the new Audi development already possesses some motoring history, having been the site of the BMC plant from the 1950s through to the 1970s. It was here the ill-fated Leyland P76 was built until the plant closed down in 1974.It's one of the most significant overseas investments made by Audi's parent company, Audi AG. Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann says it shows the parent company's commitment to the local market.He says: “A key part of Audi's growth strategy in the medium term requires investment by the dealer network in facility upgrades, preparing the brand to reach 15,000 unit sales in the year 2015 and to deliver best-in-class customer satisfaction."“Not only will the new retail business significantly raise the profile of Audi and benefit the Sydney dealer network in terms of a much stronger brand presence, but it will also fast-track an increase of the brand's awareness nationally to a (new) level ..."The Audi Centre Sydney will be the first of its type in the world and, says Hofmann, is one of a very small number of factory-funded headquarters outside Europe.“It is probably one of five or so. There is China, Japan and Singapore,” he adds.It took more than 18 months to develop the plan and sell it to Audi management in Germany, but Hofmann says the job was made easier by recent sales successes in Australia.The company has registered between 20 and 30 per cent year-on-year growth since it became a factory operation, growing from less than 4000 sales to a projected 7000-plus this year. The 2007 total has already passed the 2006 result, hitting 6295 by the end of October for a 36 per cent improvement.  

"Jac had two owners before me," she says. "Betty is an adopted child; we don't know anything about her ... she's been abandoned. Betty's my favourite but Jac is not allowed to know." In case you can't tell, Yongsiri has an obsession with her Minis. Betty, is a purple 1977 Leyland Clubman LS that she bought about two years ago for $5000. A friend took the honours in naming Yongsiri's pride and joy when she couldn't come up with the right name to suit her new baby. And with this very close connection to her motor vehicle, you can understand her distress when returning to her car after work and discovering Betty had been tipped over. "I saw it on the surveillance camera — five blokes rolled her," she says. "I was in tears, devastated. I thought my life was over." The upsetting event occurred last November, making Betty a complete write off, although Yongsiri says it's now in the shop being repaired and she will restore it. Yongsiri couldn't bear the thought of living without a Mini, so invested in Jac the Turtle, another 1977 Leyland Clubman, the S Version, this time in green and costing $4500. "Jac was named because the number plates are original, JAC278, that's what it was sold out of the factory as. And Turtle because it was green and slow," she says laughing. The industrial design student thinks her obsession for the classic cars from the 1960s and '70s was with her when she was born. But the first evidence of her interest was about the age of eight. "When I saw them when I was younger, I said I was going to get one when I could drive and I did," she says. "There used to be Minis that would park near my house and I always admired them." And she finds there are still youngsters out there who get a bit of a kick out of her dream car. "I get a lot of looks," she says. "Primary school kids love it, jumping up and down and pointing and smiling." And Yongsiri says it also attracts attention from the older generation. "They stop for a chat and say `When I was your age, I had a Mini'," she says. When Yongsiri first bought her Mini, she decided to become fully involved with her passion and joined the Mini Car Club of NSW. And while she initially received a welcome reception, the Mini fan from Parramatta says some people doubted her commitment. "There are very few girls," she says. "When I joined the Mini community, everyone was really happy to help. Then some of the guys were kind of like `it's a girl, she's not going to last'. "I was thinking maybe the Mini wasn't right for me but I wanted to prove them wrong and stuck with it. Now it's like a passion." Yongsiri can now change the oil, air filters, spark plugs and her boyfriend will soon teach her how to change the wheel bearings. She can perform what she calls "basic things", which is enough to impress a lot of other male and female car owners. "There's no power steering in any sort of old Mini," she says. "You can put air con in it yourself but it costs a bit and the uni budget doesn't afford that sort of thing." She's even got her mum interested in Minis and is currently trying to convert her sister, who's of the opinion "they just break down". And having already achieved teaching her sister to drive a manual transmission in a Mini, she's not far off her goal. When it comes to her friends, they've learned to respect her undeniable passion. "My girlfriends just laugh and say I'm always a different, special child. I can't see myself driving anything else but a Mini. There's nothing else that I would be proud of driving."