British · 1969–1981

Austin Maxi

The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. Despite its practical design and space efficiency, the Maxi never came close to reaching its projected sales targets. 450,297 Maxis were built over a 12-year period. BL management decisions involving the Maxi had significant knock-on effects to the rest of the car line-up. BL marketing decreed that the Maxi should be the only car in the range to feature a hatchback. This stance prevented the Austin Allegro and Princess models gaining hatchbacks despite those designs being capable of receiving them.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Austin A60 · Successor: Austin Montego

All British Austin Maxi data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

History

The Maxi (code name ADO14) was the last car designed under the British Motor Corporation (BMC) before it was incorporated into the new British Leyland group, and the last production car designed by famed designer Alec Issigonis. It was the first car to be launched by British Leyland. Originally, under BMC's plan for its new model range, which it had been developing since 1965, the Maxi was to have been called the "Austin 1500" on its spring 1969 launch, and a saloon version the "Morris 1500" was to follow in the autumn. However, upon the merger of BMC and Leyland the new management abandoned the four-door saloon notchback and developed the Morris Marina instead. The Marina, launched in April 1971, was a rear-wheel drive car available as a saloon, coupe or estate. The new chairman Lord Stokes decided to also change the hatchback's name to the Maxi in homage to the Mini of 10 years earlier. All Maxis were produced at the Cowley plant in Oxford, although the E-Series engines were made at a new factory at Cofton Hackett neighbouring Longbridge. The Maxi was launched in Oporto, Portugal, on 24 April 1969, in a blaze of publicity; it was one of the first cars to appear on the BBC's new car programme Wheelbase. Underneath the Maxi's practical and spacious bodyshell lay an all-new front-wheel drive chassis, which was interlinked with an innovative five-speed manual transmission; the fifth gear was another rarity on family cars in 1969 and one which many manufacturers did not adopt until more than a decade later. The gear selector suffered from notorious problems with its control linkage, especially in early models which had a cable-operated linkage prone to cable stretch and other problems. The cable linkage was quickly modified and then replaced by a rod linkage which was less

Popular culture

On 1 July 1969, John Lennon crashed a white Maxi on the single-track A838 road near Loch Eriboll in the Highlands of Scotland. He was on his way to visit his cousin in Durness with Yoko Ono, his son Julian and Yoko's daughter Kyoko. They had set off from Tittenhurst Park, his home near Ascot, in his Mini Cooper, however it soon became apparent that it was too small for them to drive all the way to Scotland, so they stayed overnight at his relatives' home in Liverpool. From there, he rang Apple Records and arranged for a driver to bring the "staff" car; a recently acquired Snowberry White Austin Maxi registered RLA 888G. It featured a full-length white webasto roof and also had a silver apple mounted on the radio speaker top of the front fascia. The following morning, Ono and Lennon transferred all of their luggage over to the Maxi and the four set off north again to Northern Scotland. Whilst driving along the narrow A838 road, Lennon panicked when he saw another car approaching him and sent the Maxi headlong into a ditch. While the children escaped relatively unhurt, Lennon received a gash to his forehead and Ono injured her back, resulting in a hospital stay in Golspie's Lawson Memorial Hospital for five days. After they returned, Lennon arranged for the Maxi to be placed on a plinth outside his Tittenhurst Park home as an homage to their luck. John Lennon also had the Maxi's steering wheel removed and hung up in the house's billiards room. When Lennon and Ono left the UK for the United States, Lennon sold Tittenhurst to friend and former bandmate Ringo Starr who had the Maxi scrapped. In October 2016, James Walshe, the deputy editor of Practical Classics car magazine retraced Lennon's journey in his 1969 Maxi. The feature later received a top award as 'Best Feature' a

Timeline

May 1969: Introduction of the Austin Maxi 1500 5-door hatchback with transversely-mounted 1485 cc E Series engine and 5-speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels, independent suspension with hydrolastic shock absorbers (often referred to as the "cable-change" models). October 1970: Revisions: redesigned front grille with centre badge, bodyside strips, gearchange rods (instead of cables), better sound insulation, new seat facings, all-new veneered wood dash design and smaller steering wheel. Introduction of the Austin Maxi 1750 with larger 1748 cc engine and revisions as for Maxi 1500. Assembly by IMV in Yugoslavia also commenced in 1970. 1971: Alternator fitted to all UK models, revised direction indicator circuit, matt finish wood dash, plastic engine shield now black instead of cream. 1750 now has its own gold/yellow chequered grille badge. 1972: Introduction of the Austin Maxi 1750 HL, with twin SU HS6 carburettor version of the 1748 cc engine, which gave a higher output of 91 bhp (68 kW) at 5250 rpm. Other additional features for the HL were 165 x 13 radial ply tyres, black grille with chrome upper and lower strips and red "HL" motif, red chequered front badge, front bumper under-riders, chrome exhaust trim, black rimmed hub caps, body coloured mouldings along the sides and rear, electric windscreen washers, 3-spoke alloy steering wheel with leather-bound rim, padded vinyl dashboard, dipping rear view mirror, vanity mirror on passenger sun visor, front door pockets, simulated wooden gear knob and brushed nylon upholstery. 1973: Hazard flashers introduced on UK models. In common with the Austin/Morris 1800, body changes to the Maxi simplify production and reduce costs (the A posts are no longer lead loaded). 1974: Optional 4-speed automatic transmission available

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

sp: uk
name: Austin Maxi
aka: Maxi, Leyland Maxi
Manufacturer: Austin (British Leyland)
Production: May 1969 – July 1981
Assembly: United Kingdom: Cowley, Oxford, England (Cowley plant), Yugoslavia: Novo Mesto (IMV), New Zealand: Petone (AMI)
Body style: 5-door hatchback
Engine: 1485 cc E-Series I4, 1748 cc E-Series I4
Transmission: 5-speed manual all-synchromesh, 4-speed automatic (optional from 1974)
Length: 159 in
Width: 64 in
Height: 54.5 in
Kerb weight: 2156 lb
Wheelbase: 104.75 in
Designer: Sir Alec Issigonis
Predecessor: Austin A60 Cambridge
Successor: Austin Maestro