Leyland P76: a great Briton Down Under

But the panacea of the full-size sector had eluded what was, from 1969, British Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia, and then from 1972 Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia (as it aligned with the mergers and rebranding of its UK parent).

Holden, Ford and Chrysler had taken a stranglehold on the Australian market, churning out traditional, large, rear-wheel-drive V8 saloons such as the Kingswood, Falcon and Valiant, and to survive Leyland needed a piece of that action – and not a moment too soon.

In 1967, a proposal was made to BMC UK for its Australian division to produce a home-grown, full-size model, with approval granted late the following year.

The P76 is dimensionally and dynamically challenged on British roads, but its cosseting ride and high levels of grip are impressive

However, UK management insisted that the new car should carry over as much hardware as possible in order to make the project viable.

As luck would have it, that included a recently productionised Rover V8 engine, bought in from Buick.

David Beech, the Australian division’s director of development, drove the programme from the start, with a determination for the new car not only to receive full consideration next to its domestic rivals, but also to raise the bar in key areas.

The spacious and comfortable, family-friendly cabin has excellent all-round visibility

With work under way in 1969, and Giovanni Michelotti brought on board as designer, the engineering was shared between the British and Australian teams.

An early plan for a front-drive configuration was prototyped using an Austin 1800 ‘Landcrab’ body fitted with a Rover V8, but – perhaps fortunately – cost, complexity and poor handling killed it.

However, the all-alloy V8, along with a smaller-capacity straight-six engine, was going to hand the P76 a low-weight USP with which the likes of GM, Ford and Chrysler could not compete, powered as they were by heavy all-iron V8s.

The Leyland P76’s radio is the pushbutton pinnacle of 1970s ‘infotainment’

Increasing the Rover engine’s capacity from 3528cc to 4416cc raised power by around 40bhp to 192bhp, with maximum torque of 285lb ft arriving at a lowly 2500rpm.

The Rover’s twin SU carburettors were ditched in favour of a single twin-choke Stromberg, for ease of maintenance.

The 121bhp six-cylinder engine, destined for lesser models, was based on Leyland’s single-overhead-cam E6-series unit, as found in the Austin 2200 but with an increase in displacement to 2623cc.

A mix of three- and four-speed manual transmissions, as well as the mandatory automatic – in this case a three-speed from Borg-Warner – provided ample powertrain pickings for Aussie buyers.

Comfy rear seats in the Leyland P76

Cast your eye over the long and slightly wedge-like form of the P76 today and, even if you weren’t familiar with the model, you’d somehow know that it was too conservatively styled to be of American origin, yet too oversized to come from these parts (at 16ft long and 6ft 3in wide it still dwarfs most modern cars).

It has been claimed that Beech himself was responsible for the car’s front- and rear-end appearance, and unfortunately it’s the grille panel, subjectively, that sits least happily with the rest of the car’s design, made more prominent still by the long front overhang (with the rear, these accounted for nearly 7ft of the car’s total length).

But viewed from the rear three-quarter it’s quite a handsome thing, and one that would have stood out in what was still a very conservative local car market.

‘Leyland had gone the extra mile to create what it was convinced would be a game-changer’

Leyland Australia thought so, too.

Talking to Autocar, it suggested the P76: ‘Presents the Australian buyer with a choice that is a step away from the sameness that has characterised much of the Australian market for many years.’

And that was more than just marketing hype.

In addition to achieving its weight advantage over class rivals – in some cases it accounted for a difference of up to 500lb, depending on the model – the P76’s body was formed from 215 pressings, which is two fewer than a contemporary Mini.

The 4.4-litre all-alloy V8 makes 192bhp

This kept manufacturing costs to a minimum, while also creating an overall stiffer structure, aiding both handling and crash safety.

To reduce maintenance costs, the four corner sections of the car were made from zinc die-castings, making them easier and cheaper to replace in the event of a minor prang.

Interviewed by Motor in 1973, Beech reinforced that point: “In designing the P76, we’ve given major consideration to accessibility, to make the mechanic’s job as easy as possible and to cut down on the maintenance costs to the owner.”

‘Our’ car is fitted with a three-speed Borg-Warner ’box, but a choice of three- and four-speed manual transmissions was also available

Leyland had gone the extra mile to create what it was convinced would be a game-changer.

The P76 was the first Australian-built car to be fitted with disc brakes and side-impact bars as standard, and all models were equipped with rack-and-pinion steering, a deformable steering column and a glued-in windscreen – in other words, a relatively high-tech offering, with safety front and centre for Australian families.

Those same families would also have warmed to the salubrious cabin and what was claimed to be the largest luggage bay on the market – which, at 35cu ft, could swallow the aforementioned 44-gallon drum (although why anyone would want to lug such an item around is a complete mystery).

This Targa Florio edition marks Leyland’s success in the 1974 World Cup Rally

And, just to shake any hint of British-inspired austerity from the colour-naming menu, Leyland Australia offered some light relief: ‘Oh Fudge’, ‘Home on Th’Orange’, ‘Peel Me A Grape’ and ‘Hairy Lime’ were just some of the hues you could choose.

With the P76 officially announced in 1971, two prototypes were built and sent to the UK for testing.

From the car’s conception, there had been clear synergies between Leyland UK’s future-product planning and the vehicle into which the P76 would evolve; the fact that the Australian car had the same wheelbase dimension as Rover’s upcoming SD1 is one example.

Clear, functional dials sit behind a two-spoke steering wheel in the Leyland P76’s cavernous cabin

It also shared (to within half an inch) the SD1’s front and rear tracks, and its basic suspension design: MacPherson struts at the front, and a live axle with coil springs and radius arms at the rear.

So while outwardly the P76 appeared to be home-brewed, Beech had clearly taken on board his parent company’s insistence on hardware-sharing.

An extensive test programme was set up at the Motor Industry Research Authority (MIRA) near Nuneaton, and results were shared with Beech’s team in Australia.

‘In the context of a car designed for schlepping along vast, straight highways, the P76’s attributes make perfect sense’

Feedback from the British engineers, led by Roy Brocklehurst, must have been positive, because in June 1973 British Leyland announced that the P76 would be offered in the UK.

With an estimated cost of £3600, and available as a saloon and estate, it was to be sold through a select network of 20 Rover/Triumph dealerships. (This plan obviously petered out, because the car was never officially catalogued in the UK.)

In stark contrast, Leyland Australia’s sales projections were bullish.

With the P76’s 1973 launch bolstered by being named Car of the Year by Wheels, one of the country’s most influential car magazines, there was talk of annual sales of 50,000 units a year – which Leyland needed, frankly, just to wipe its face.

The brake pedals feature a useful reminder

But it wasn’t to be.

As well as launching a full-size car coincident with a global fuel crisis that would put paid to so many performance and luxury models at the time, P76 production at its Zetland works in Sydney was crippled by striking workers and an alleged plot by rival car makers to sabotage parts supply.

The P76 also had its fair share of quality issues, which added fuel to the fire.

In the end, despite the launch fanfare and promise of estate and Force 7 coupe variants (see below), only 18,007 P76s were sold, with production ceasing after just 18 months.

Needless to say, it also sounded the death knell for Leyland in Australia.

Combined, the front and rear overhangs make up 7ft of the car’s overall length

Dave Eadon bought this 1974 P76 Targa Florio in 2001, but had previously owned a De Luxe V8 when he was training to be a commercial pilot in Australia in the mid-’80s.

His Targa Florio – one of 490 special editions celebrating a P76 win in the eponymous section of the 1974 World Cup Rally – was originally owned by a British merchant seaman who had it shipped home in 1977 on the royal yacht Britannia.

The TF was based on the mid-range Super trim (the others being De Luxe and Executive), but came as standard with a limited-slip diff, 14in alloy sports wheels, metallic paint (Omega Navy for this car), ‘Targa Florio’ graphics, power steering and a twin-speaker radio.

The Leyland P76’s boot can swallow a 44-gallon drum

Enter the cavernous cabin and you sit in a driver’s seat facing a slab of fake veneer deeply inset with two main dials – a speedo, with a yellow-red warning band starting at 65mph, and a clock – plus three smaller ones for fuel, water temperature and charge.

The Leyland script looks incongruous across the padded two-spoke steering wheel, but the integrated ‘Leyland Premier’ pushbutton radio is a sight to behold.

The cream-coloured seats are vast, with ribbed facings and no side bolstering.

Vision is excellent all round, with squared-off corners making the big car easy to place from the off.

The Leyland has presence, even at rest

Select Drive, slip your foot off the large, ‘POWER DISCS’-inscribed brake pedal and start gliding – because that’s what it feels like.

Even in this supposedly more sporting version, the P76 rolls down the road with the cosseting demeanour of a card-carrying land yacht, the Borg-Warner ’box blurring gearchanges almost imperceptibly.

The V8 engine emits a lovely woofle but is more subdued than any Rover V8 I’ve driven before, complemented by low levels of tyre and wind noise (the latter aided by that bonded front ’screen).

Although lauded at launch, the P76 was not the showroom hit that Leyland hoped it would be

But performance, while torque-rich, is ultimately quite tepid given the engine’s size (0-60mph in 8.9 secs was the official line, but this car feels slower).

Still, in the context of a car designed for schlepping along vast, arrow-straight highways, all those attributes make perfect sense.

On sinuous mid-Welsh A-roads, perhaps not so much.

While the P76’s steering is quite high-geared, it’s not imbued with the deft handling of, say, a Rover P6B or a Triumph 2500.

And while the sumptuousness of its ride may have been welcomed by the family on a sprint from Melbourne to Sydney, on these unforgiving UK roads it struggles to contain its composure, even if grip levels are admirable overall.

The Leyland P76 glides along open roads in a restrained manner

So was the P76 Leyland’s great white elephant? Not at all.

This was a brave and well-conceived dose of Anglo-Australian pragmatism that should have rocked the status quo, but failed abysmally due to circumstances largely unrelated to the car itself.

That its potential was left unrealised is one of the industry’s great tragedies.

Images: Luc Lacey

The muscle-car coupe that never was

A sportier two-door (closest) and load-lugging estate were on the cards before the P76 project was canned

A year after the P76 was launched, Leyland injected some brio into the range when it announced that a Michelotti-designed coupé would be offered, known as the Force 7.

Sharing no body panels with its saloon sibling, the two-door hatchback Force 7 was the perfect riposte to those who thought the P76 too conservative.

Only available with the P76’s V8, in either automatic or manual form, the Force 7 was offered with the options of a performance kit, lower gearing for quicker acceleration and a limited-slip differential, making it a perfect muscle-car rival to models from the more established domestic brands.

The Force 7’s development was initially pushed through at the expense of the P76’s estate variant, but, alas, when the saloon failed in the market, it took the coupe along with it.

Some 56 cars were built in total, but they were never sold before production ceased.

Eight were auctioned off as non-road-legal cars, one was retained by Leyland Australia and another shipped to the UK, where it was presented to BL boss Lord Stokes.

The remaining 48 were stripped of parts and unceremoniously crushed.

Factfile

Leyland P76 Targa Florio

• Sold/number built 1973-’74/18,007 (all P76s)
• Construction steel monocoque
• Engine all-alloy, ohv 4416cc V8, single twin-choke Stromberg carburettor
• Max power 192bhp @ 4250rpm
• Max torque 285lb ft @ 2500rpm
• Transmission three-speed automatic, RWD
• Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar rear live axle, radius arms, coil springs, telescopic dampers
• Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
• Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
• Length 16ft (4876mm)
• Width 6ft 3¼in (1910mm)
• Height 4ft 7in (1394mm)
• Wheelbase 9ft 3¼in (2824mm)
• Weight 2910lb (1320kg)
• Mpg 15.8
• 0-60mph 8.9 secs
• Top speed 107mph
• Price new AU$3865
• Price now £10,000*

_{*Prices correct at date of original publication}

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