Leyland P76 News

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. 

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.