A Brief History of the Allegro

as kindly provided by the Allegro Club International

The Austin Morris Group, British Leyland U.K. Ltd, proudly announced the introduction of their new front-wheel drive saloon, the Allegro on 17th May 1973. The range comprised twelve models, incorporating both two- and four-door styles, with engine capacities ranging from the 1098cc and 1275cc A Series types, to the more advanced overhead camshaft E Series engines of 1485cc and 1748cc, derived from the Maxi range.

Although they incorporated several new features, such as Hydragas Suspension, a thermostatically controlled electric cooling fan, and that infamous Quartic steering wheel, the Allegros had a hard job on their hands to reproduce the success of their predecessors, the well established 1100 and 1300 cars bearing the names of all the constituent companies of the Austin Morris Group. In fact, early sales figures proved disappointing, many customers preferring to opt for the well proven yet obsolete marques, which were offered, for period of some months, alongside the Allegro. Build quality on the earlier Allegros left more than a little to be desired; Water leaks into the boot and the passenger compartment were common faults; Boot hinges failed, with the springs causing damage to the rear tonneau panels; there were reports of structural distortion; And the quartic steering wheel became the but of many a joke. Nowadays, though these early cars are becoming sought after.

Gradually, however, the cars developed. A luxury Vanden Plas trimmed version became available, and was often fitted with the optional automatic transmission that could be specified on certain Austin models. A two-door estate car utilising either the 1300 or 1500 engine was introduced, and the Quartic wheel was abandoned in favour of a more conventional fitting.

The reputation of the Allegro improved as drivers found it to be a very practical, reliable and suprisingly economical car to run. Credibility underwent a boost with the placing into service of Allegro Panda cars with Police forces. Also the Crayford Engineering Company was selected to produce a small number of exciting two-door convertibles. September 1975 saw the phasing out of the Series One cars, as Allegro 2 took their place. Visually similar in most respects, the Series Two offered greater leg room for rear set passengers. Gone were the individually styled grilled for 1100 and 1300 cars, with the adoption across the range of the honeycombe style grille from the 1500 model. The period of the Series Two saw many variations in trim, and the production of the 1500 Special LE (Limited Edition) models, featuring special interior appointments, and distinctive body graphics. The LE was available only in Tara Green Metallic or Astral Blue Metallic paint finishes, although both of these colours were also available on other models. A particularly interesting varient was the Allegro Equipe, which utilised features from both the Series Two and Series Three cars, combined with a silver metallic paint finish trimmed with matt black, and startling side stripes in red, black and orange. Allow sports wheels added to the overall impression, and the car, which was available only as a two-door saloon, was powered by the 1750cc engine, for "Supervroom".

A larger picture from the front cover of the Allegro 2 Estate brochure (149k)

Allegro 3 arrived in September 1979, and featured several visual changes, of which the most obvious were the larger bumpers in matt black, the modified boot lids, and in some cases, a redesigned front end treatment with four headlamps.

The Series Three cars were, without doubt, the best of all Allegros, and compared well with competitors. Towards the end of the production run the A Series engines were replaced by the new A Plus units that had been developed for the Austin Metro. In most other respects the range was unaltered in concept, with most of the modifications concerning the trim details.

Most Allegros were British built, but from the period of Series Two production many were assembled in Belgium from British components. The Italian built Innocenti Regent was based on the Allegro, and lasted from 1973 to 1975. It differed in detail from all other Allegros.

Information supplied by the Allegro Club International

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