Editing Austin Allegro (section)

==Design==
British Leyland used a saloon design for the Allegro rather than a [[hatchback]], as the company had decided that the [[Austin Maxi]] should have a hatchback as its unique selling point.

[[File:MHV Austin Allegro 02.jpg|thumb|left|Rear of an exported Allegro]]
The Allegro used [[front-wheel drive]], with the familiar A-Series engine with a sump-mounted transmission. The higher-specification models used the [[SOHC]] E-Series engine from the Maxi, in 1500&nbsp;cc and 1750&nbsp;cc displacements. The two-box saloon bodyshell was suspended using the new [[Hydragas]] system (derived from the previous [[Hydrolastic]] system used on the 1100/1300).

[[File:1975 Innocenti Regent 1300 Front.jpg|thumb|right|The Allegro was assembled by Innocenti in Italy where it was badged as the Innocenti Regent.]]
Stylistically, it went against the sharp-edged styling cues largely led by Italian designer [[Giorgetto Giugiaro]] that were becoming fashionable, and featured rounded panel work. The original styling proposal, by [[Harris Mann]], had the same sleek, wedge-like shape of the [[Princess (car)|Princess]], but because British Leyland management, keen to control costs, wanted to install the existing E-Series engine and bulky heating system from the Marina, it became impossible to incorporate the low bonnet line as envisaged: the bodyshell began to look more and more bloated and tubby. This was acceptable to BL, however, which according to Jeff Daniels' book ''British Leyland, The Truth About The Cars'', published in 1980, wanted to follow the [[Citroën]] approach of combining advanced technology with styling that eschewed mainstream trends in order to create long-lasting "timeless" models. Its unfashionable shape was thus not a problem to the company. The final car bore little resemblance to Mann's original concept that had originally been conceived as an 1100/1300 reskin.

[[File:Austin Allegro estate reg 1981 1275 cc.JPG|thumb|right|Allegro buyers preferring a car with a tailgate had to opt for the estate (seen here in post-1979 facelift style).]]
With the Allegro, the BL avoided the full extent of [[badge engineering]] that had defined the marketing of [[BMC ADO16|its predecessor]], which was mostly sold as an Austin although it was badged under almost all of the brands which BMC/BL owned, but it nevertheless introduced in September 1974<ref name=Autocar1974>{{cite magazine |title = Vanden Plas 1500: A new luxury model from British Leyland based on the 1,485 cc Austin Allegro 1500 with special trimming and finish by Vanden Plas|magazine=[[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] | volume = 141 (nbr4065) | pages =26–28| date = 21 September 1974}}</ref> an upmarket Allegro, branded as the Vanden Plas 1500/automatic. This featured a prominent grille at the front and an interior enhanced by a range of modifications designed to attract traditionally inclined customers, including: special seats upholstered in real leather, with reclining backrests; deep-pile carpets; extra sound insulation; a new instrument panel in walnut; walnut folding tables for the rear passengers; nylon headlining; and for the luggage, a fully trimmed boot. In 1974, a time when the UK starting price for the Austin Allegro was given as £1159 (£11,731.77 in 2018 money), [[British Leyland Motor Corporation|BL]] was quoting, at launch, a list price of £1951 (£19,748.65 in 2018) for the Vanden Plas 1500.<ref name=Autocar1974/> The Allegro name was not used on this version.

[[File:Austin Allegro Interior with Quartic steering wheel.jpg|thumb|right|Quartic Steering Wheel as featured in the Allegro at launch]]
Early Allegro models featured a "quartic" steering wheel, which was rectangular with rounded sides. This was touted as allowing extra room between the base of the steering wheel and the driver's legs. The quartic steering wheel was unpopular, and was dropped in 1974 when the SS model was replaced by the HL. The VP 1500 was never introduced with one, despite it being featured in the owner's manual. Despite this feature only having appeared on certain models for a limited time, the Allegro has always been associated with the criticism that it "had a square steering wheel". It could now be seen as being ahead of its time as today many cars have squared off lower section steering wheels and some Formula 1 cars have square steering wheels. Some other BL cars from this period were fitted with a semi-quartic steering wheel, such as the [[Rover SD1]].

In April 1975 a three-door [[station wagon|estate car]] version was added to the range. Allegros were now coming off the production line with the same conventional steering wheel as the [[Morris Marina]],<ref name=Autocar1975>{{cite magazine| title = News: Allegros – quartic wheel abandoned|magazine=[[Autocar (magazine)|Autocar]] | volume = 141 (nbr 4100)| page =25 |date = 7 June 1975}}</ref> although the company waited till early June 1975 to announce, rather quietly, the demise of the Allegro's quartic steering wheel, presumably to give time for older cars to emerge from the sales and distribution network. Similar to the two-door saloon, the Allegro estate had a coachline and also featured a rear wash-wipe. The spare wheel was housed under the rear load floor area. It was only in production for about 100 days before the arrival of the Series 2 model, making Series I Allegro estate rarer than most other models in the range.

There was a similar situation in New Zealand, where the [[New Zealand Motor Corporation]], which at the time had CKD kit assembly plants in [[Newmarket, Auckland|Newmarket]] and [[Panmure, New Zealand|Panmure]], [[Auckland]], and [[Petone]], [[Wellington]], began Allegro assembly in 1975 with the circular steering wheel. Only a few hundred 'Mark Ones', among the first locally-built car models to have a factory-fitted heated rear window, were built before the 'Mark Two' was launched. Most Allegros sold in New Zealand had the 1300 cc A-series OHV engine and four-speed manual gearbox. Later, the 1.5-litre OHC engine was offered with a four-speed automatic 'box, but this was eventually dropped. NZMC, moving away from UK-sourced cars to models from its Honda franchise (it began [[Honda Civic|Civic]] assembly in 1976, with the [[Honda Accord|Accord]] following in 1978), later rationalised Allegro output to offer just two paint colours, metallic brown or solid dark blue, with a cream vinyl roof and brown interior trim. One batch of 48 'Mark Three' CKD kits was shipped from England after NZMC had decided to drop the Allegro in 1980, and these were assembled and sold, also in brown or cream; these rare cars have four round headlights rather than two square units, and different tail lights, plus a restyled dashboard.

===Dimensions===
[[File:Vanden Plas 1500 1977.jpg|thumb|right|1977 Vanden Plas 1500]]
* Overall length: {{convert|152|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}
* Overall width: {{convert|63|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}
* Height: {{convert|55|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}
* Wheelbase: {{convert|96|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}
* Track: {{convert|53|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}
* Weight: {{convert|1915|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}

The Allegro was fitted with 13" pressed-steel wheels fitted with 145 tyres, 155 on 1750, Sport and Vanden Plas derivatives.