Editing Austin Montego (section)

==Design and development==
The Montego started life as a four-door [[notchback]] variant of project LC10. Development on the new model, intended to succeed both the [[Morris Marina]] and the [[Princess (car)|Princess]] ranges by the turn of the 1980s, had begun in 1977 but ultimately the new car was not launched until seven years after development had started; in the meantime, the Marina had been updated and rebadged as the [[Morris Ital]] from 1980,<ref>{{cite web|title=Brief History|url=https://maestro.org.uk/cars/the-montego/brief-history/|publisher=Maestro & Montego Owners Club|access-date=18 September 2017}}</ref> whilst the Princess had been updated as the [[Austin Ambassador]] in 1982. The [[Honda]] based [[Triumph Acclaim]] had also been introduced in 1981 largely as a stop-gap to keep potential buyers interested in BL products until both the Montego and the [[Rover 200 series]] were launched in 1984.

The [[Austin Maestro]] emerged as the five-door [[hatchback]] variant. When the designs diverged, the ''Montego'' became project LM11 (the Maestro being LM10), and remained based on a lengthened version of the LC10s Volkswagen Golf style front [[MacPherson strut]] / rear [[twist beam]] chassis. The Montego received different front and rear styling following the replacement of designer [[David Bache]] with [[Roy Axe]]. It also featured body-coloured bumpers (as did the ''Maestro''), and front wipers which hid themselves under the bonnet when parked.<ref>{{cite web
|title=The MG Montego & Maestro
|url=http://www.mgturner.demon.co.uk/roverm.htm
|author=Neil Turner
}}</ref>

The Montego offered many improvements over the Maestro, many of which were later incorporated into the latter, such as a new [[SOHC]] [[engine]] (the [[BL S-series engine|S-series]]), and a more robust dashboard. As with the Maestro, there was a high-performance [[MG cars|MG]] version which again used the solid-state instrument cluster, [[trip computer]], and synthesised voice for the information and warning systems. The dashboard fitted to the Montego was superior to that originally designed for the Maestro and featured a rally-style tachometer, a service indicator and a representation of the car showing open doors, lights left on, etc.

[[File:Austin Montego Countryman.jpg|thumb|left|The estate version was competitively priced and achieved useful sales volumes in the UK and, perhaps more surprisingly, in France]]
An [[station wagon|estate]] variant, with larger luggage capacity than its competitors,<ref>{{cite journal
|date=October 1986
|pages=463
|title=Family Cars: Car Facts table
|journal=[[Which?]]
}}</ref> two additional rear-facing child seats and [[self-levelling suspension]], also styled by Roy Axe, followed shortly and received instant acclaim, winning the company a [[Design Council]] award.<ref name="mmoc">{{cite web
|title=Story of the Montego
|url=http://www.maestro.org.uk/montego/
|publisher=Maestro & Montego Owners Club
}}</ref>

There were plans to rename it the ''[[Rover 400 series]]'' for the late 1988 model year facelift, while also flattening side panels to give it the same family look as the Rover 800. Pre–production cars in [[Warwickshire]] were seen bearing "ROVER" badges, and badged as 413i, 416i, 420 and 420i. Due to costs, the facelift did not fully materialise, and the unrelated 400 series launched in April 1990.<ref>{{cite web
 |title  = Montego development story
 |url    = https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/austin/montego/lm11-development-story/
 |author = AROnline.co.uk
}}</ref>