The Leyland P76 is a large car that was produced by Leyland Australia, the Australian subsidiary of British Leyland. Featuring what was described at the time as the "standard Australian wheelbase of 111 inches",

Launched in 1973, the P76 was nicknamed "the wedge", on account of its shape, with a large boot, able to easily hold a 44 gallon drum. Although station wagon and "Force 7" coupé versions were designed, these never went into mass production.

Naming the P76

The name of the P76 derived from the car's codename while in development (Project 76). The official line was that the P76 was an original Australian designed and built Large Family Car, with no overseas counterpart and that P76 stood for "Project 1976".

The Rover SD1 (released in 1976) shared several engineering features with the P76 – including MacPherson strut front suspension, the aluminium V8 engine and a live rear axle.

The P76 itself was, however, out of production by 1976. An alternative theory is that P76 were simply the first three digits of the army service number of Lord Donald Stokes, then chair of British Leyland.

Automotive forebears

Before the P76, Leyland Australia and its corporate predecessor BMC (Australia) had not successfully fielded a direct competitor in the large-car sector which then dominated the Australian car market. Previous attempts had been mounted with the 1958 Morris Marshal (a rebadged Austin A95); the 1962 Austin Freeway and Wolseley 24/80 (the Freeway was an Austin A60 with Riley 4/72 tail lights, a unique full-width grille and a 2.4-litre 6-cylinder version of the 1622 cc B-series engine; the Wolseley was a 6-cylinder version of the Wolseley 16/60); and the 1971 Austin "X6" Tasman and Kimberley (facelifted Austin 1800 with the 6-cylinder 2.2-litre E-series engine).

Each of these cars was a compromise and the motoring public overwhelmingly preferred the locally established Holden and Ford products. Nonetheless, the Freeway, 24/80 and the X6 each developed a loyal niche following.

Design and engineering

The car was designed by Giovanni Michelotti. The entry-level P76 featured an enlarged 2663cc 121 bhp (83 kW) version of the 6-cylinder engine from the smaller Austin Kimberley and Austin Tasman. The top-of-the-line 192 bhp (143 kW) the P76's engineering followed conventional lines.

It did offer a combination of features which were advanced in this category in Australia at the time: rack-and-pinion steering, power-assisted disc brakes, MacPherson-strut front suspension, front-hinged bonnet, glued-in windscreen and concealed windscreen wipers, as well as the familiar Australian-made Borg Warner gearboxes (including 3-speed column shift) and a live rear axle.

Particular attention was paid to structural rigidity, a British Leyland engineering strength. This goal was aided by a conscious effort to reduce the number of panels needed to build the car's body—a remarkably low 215, reportedly only five more than for a Mini.

At the time P76 production ceased, Leyland was developing a V6 version to replace the E6 variant. The V6 was derived from the 4.4-litre P76 V8, with the two rear cylinders chopped off.

Performance in the marketplace

Despite the V8 model winning the Wheels Car of the Year for 1973, sales of the P76 were adversely affected by a variety of issues. The controversial new Labor government was fuelling rapid inflation; industrial action was affecting component manufacturers and production at Leyland Australia's plant in Zetland. Also, the release of the P76 coincided with the 1973 oil crisis, when fuel prices increased dramatically.

Gerry Crown and Matt Bryson also finished Second on the 2015 Road to Mandalay classic car rally, winning the Malaysian Cup for being the fastest car.

All of them still exist, and are regularly driven by their private owners. Another car, an Omega Navy one with white trim, was sent to Britain and used by Lord Stokes for some time. It was later sold to a private collector, who later sold the car to a collector in New Zealand, which is where it resides now. Another one is at the National Motor Museum, Birdwood in South Australia, on permanent loan from Leyland Australia.

After P76 production ended, it was reported that an unnamed Venezuelan company had expressed interest in buying the production line and build the car in that country, albeit with a different engine.

A smaller, medium-sized car was also planned, called the "P82". Styling for that car became a competition between Michelotti and Leyland Australia's own design department. In 1982, claims were made in some motoring media that Leyland in Britain had decided on Michelotti's version, but the ex-head of Leyland Australia's design department was unaware of any such decision. The car was intended to replace the Morris Marina in Australia, but only one prototype and some styling mock-ups were ever produced. At least two experimental V6 engines were made, one being based on a cut-down Rover V8 of about 2.6 L capacity, and another based on the actual P76 V8 motor at about 3.3 L. Conceived as a high volume/profit car, the P82 was supposed to have many body styles over the same basic structure, and was to be offered in 4, V6 and V8 forms, dependent on body style. After the Australian plant closed, the prototype car was reported to have been sent to Rover in Britain for examination before being destroyed. Just before the plant closure in 1974, and its subsequent takeover by the Australian military, Leyland Australia's styling department were still working on the P82 styling, and one single 1/5 scale clay model of the P82 survives, in the sedan "short front and rear" variant.

P76 today

The P76 continues to have a loyal following of owners who have great enthusiasm for the car. There are at least seven P76 owners clubs in Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand P76 Owners' Club was founded in 1983.

After production of the P76 ceased, Leyland Australia limited its local production to the Mini and Mini Moke, both produced at Enfield, along with commercial vehicles and buses.

Total P76 production numbers

thumb|The base model P76 Deluxe was differentiated from the higher specification models by the use of two rather than four headlights

  • Model, Version, (Model Code), Production
  • Deluxe, Column Auto 6, (2C26) – 2118
  • Deluxe, Column Manual 6, (2N26) – 2342
  • Deluxe, 4 Speed Manual 6, (2M26) – 516
  • Deluxe, Column Auto V8, (2C44) – 1532
  • Deluxe, Column Manual V8, (2N44) – 1281
  • Deluxe, 4 Speed Manual V8, (2M44) – 380
  • Deluxe Total – 8169
  • Super, Column Auto 6, (3C26) – 1132
  • Super, T-Bar Auto 6, (3A26) – 380
  • Super, 4 Speed Manual 6, (3M26) – 719
  • Super, Column Auto V8, (3C44) – 1928
  • Super, T-Bar Auto V8, (3A44) – 2256 (including 488 Targa Florio model)
  • Super, 4 Speed Manual V8, (3M44) – 1047
  • Super Total – 7462
  • Executive, T-Bar Auto V8, (4A44) – 2376
  • Executive Total – 2376

Production Figures provided by James Mentiplay and the Leyland P76 Owners Club of WA.

References

Notes

Bibliography

Books

Articles

  • National Web site for P76 Owners
  • Stuart Brown's P76 Website
  • Milesago feature on the Leyland P76
  • Discussion on the differences between the standard Rover V8 and the P76's
  • Leyland P82 history on Austin-Rover.co.uk