IF ONLY: THE P76 MAKEOVER

In 1973, the new Leyland P76 V8 was voted Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year. That was the greatest honour that could be bestowed on a road car in Australia. But by February 1974, following a lukewarm response from the public, the magazine began to reconsider its choice.
The problem was that most people simply didn’t like the look of the thing. So Wheels did what Leyland should have done in the first place. They hired an independent and successful industrial designer, David Bentley, to analyse why the P76 wasn’t selling and suggest some improvements.
Bentley had trained as a car stylist, so he relished the opportunity. His verdict was that the basic wedge design was fine but the detail work was clumsy, his main complaint being that the “visual attention is drawn to the massive boot and the narrow wheel track which, combined with excessive wheel arch overhang, makes the car look top-heavy and unstable.” He supplied some sketches that addressed these problems:

*With the orange example, he widened the track and reduced the wheel arch overhang so that, as he put it, the body fitted better on its wheels. “The nose is given more taper to eliminate the impression of excessive frontal width,” he added. “Fuller curves remove flatness from bonnet and roof.” The grille design was also simplified.
*On the blue car, he re-jigged the controversial (not really – everyone hated it!) rear end. This included larger taillights, smaller side repeaters and very strong horizontal lines on the boot. “These make for a much cleaner and better integrated appearance,” he suggested.
*The green car shows his complete redesign of the body, still based on the original P76 dimensions. “Much simpler treatments to achieve more professional and harmonious appearance,” he concluded.

We can’t help thinking how much better the David Bentley-designed P76 looks, even by today’s standards. Given that Leyland’s aluminium V8 was a light and powerful unit, this is a car you might have bought in 1974. Unfortunately for Leyland Australia, by then sinking in a swamp of debt, it was all too late.