1971, Cars: Morris Marina

On 27 April 1971 the Austin Morris division of British Leyland launched the new Morris Marina, codename ADO 28. The new car, designed by Roy Haynes, was a replacement for the Morris Minor and Morris Oxford and a competitor for the Ford Cortina Mk III, Ford Escort Mk I, Vauxhall Viva HC and Hillman Avenger.

Predecessor: Morris Minor 1000

Predecessor: Morris Oxford Series VI

At launch the Morris Marina was available as 4-door saloon and 2-door coupé with a 1275cc L4 A-Series engine (MG Midget, 60 bhp) or a 1798cc L4 B-Series engine (MG B, 83 bhp, 94 bhp (TC)). In 1972 the range was extended with a 5-door estate with the 1798cc L4 B-Series engine.

Morris Marina 1.3 Saloon (1971)

Morris Marina 1.3 Coupé (1971)

Morris Marina 1.8 Saloon (1971)

Morris Marina 1.8 Coupé (1971)

Morris Marina 1.8 TC Saloon (1971)

Morris Marina 1.8 TC Coupé (1971)

Morris Marina 1.8 Estate (1972)

In 1976 the car was face lifted as the Morris Marina II. In 1977 a 1489 cc L4 diesel engine became available.

Morris Marina 2 Special Saloon (1976)

Morris Marina 2 GT Coupé (1976)

The last face lift was in 1978 with a changed grille, including driving lights, a front spoiler and redesigned bumpers and rear lights and the L4 1695 cc O-series engine. In 1980 the Morris Marina was replaced by the Morris Ital.

Morris Marina Mk III 1300 HL (1978)

Trivia

• In the USA the car was sold as the Austin Marina from 1973 to 1975 as a two-door coupé and a four-door saloon.
• In Canada the car was sold as the Austin Marina as two-door coupé and four-door saloon from 1972 to 1978.
• In Australia the car was introduced in April 1972 as the Morris Marina and in 1973 it was sold under the Leyland Marina name. Additionally it was also offered from November 1973 with a 121 hp (90 kW) 2600 cc E-series six-cylinder engine.
• The Marina was also produced as a pick-up in New Zealand.

Successor: Morris Ital (1980)

Brochures

Morris Marina, English (1971)

Morris Marina II, English (1976)

Morris Marina 1971 advert

Morris Marina Rally Testing  1971 advert

Morris Marina Mk III 1978 advert with Robin Nedwell and Geoffrey Davies

1974, Best selling cars UK

This list contains the best selling car models in the UK with more than 5,000 units sold in 1974. (source: Auto Katalog, Germany)

N° 42 Simca 1301 / 1501 (Chrysler France)

5,459 units sold

N° 41 Škoda 100 / 110

5,662 units sold

N° 40 Audi 80

5,822 units sold

N° 39 Peugeot 504

5,987 units sold

 

N° 38 Volkswagen Passat

6,514 units sold

N° 37 Renault R4

6,532 units sold

N° 36 Toyota Corolla

6,558 units sold

N° 35 Renault R6

6,602 units sold

N° 34 Datsun Violet (aka Datsun 140J/160J)

6,706 units sold

N° 33 Citroën GS

7,104 units sold

N° 32 Audi 100

7,388 units sold

N° 31 Datsun Bluebird (aka Datsun 160B/180B)

8,420 units sold

N° 30 Simca 1100 (Chrysler France)

9,511 units sold

N° 29 MGB / Midget (British Leyland)

9,531 units sold

N° 28 Fiat 126

9,778 units sold

N° 27 Fiat 128

9,874 units sold

N° 26 Renault R5

10,378 units sold

N° 25 Fiat 127

11,389 units sold

N° 24 Renault R16

11,879 units sold

N° 23 Jaguar XJ / Daimler Double Six (British Leyland)

13,454 units sold

N° 22 Triumph Dolomite / Sprint (British Leyland)

13,977 units sold

N° 21 Volkswagen Beetle

14,627 units sold

N° 20 Renault R12

15,331 units sold

N° 19 Hillman Imp (Chrysler UK)

15,797 units sold

N° 18 Triumph 2000 / 2500 (British Leyland)

15,833 units sold

N° 17 Datsun Sunny (aka Datsun 120Y)

16,407 units sold

N° 16 Rover 2200 / 3500 / S (P6) (British Leyland)

17,080 units sold

N° 15 Vauxhall Victor (FE)

17,772 units sold

N° 14 Datsun Cherry

21,036 units sold

N° 13 Austin / Morris 1800/2200 (BMC ADO17, British Leyland)

24,424 units sold

N° 12 Ford Consul / Granada

25,644 units sold

N° 11. Triumph Toledo / 1500 (British Leyland)

29,293 units sold

N° 10 Hillman Hunter (Chrysler UK)

31,806 units sold

N° 9 Austin Maxi (British Leyland)

34,712 units sold

N° 8 Ford Capri

36,111 units sold

N° 7 Hillman Avenger (Chrysler UK)

58,114 units sold

N° 6 Austin Allegro (British Leyland)

58,231 units sold

N° 5 Vauxhall Viva / Magnum (HC)

67,434 units sold

N° 4 Morris Marina (British Leyland)

78,376 units sold

N° 3 Mini (ADO20) (British Leyland)

84,932 units sold

N° 2 Ford Escort

86,749 units sold

N° 1 Ford Cortina

124,576 units sold