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MYSTERY MOTORS<br />
W<br />
hat car is this ? Answer in next month’s newsletter.<br />
Last month’s Mystery Motor was a Leyland P76 Force 7 Coupe.<br />
The Austin and Morris cars of the time were not suitable for Australian conditions<br />
and Leyland Australia needed a larger car to rival the Ford Falcon, Holden Kingswood<br />
and Chrysler Valiant so they produced the 4-door P76. Michelotti designed the body and<br />
the engine was the BL 2.6 litre six or the 4.4 litre Rover V8. The car won Wheels’ Car of the<br />
Year award in 1973 but the combination of strikes, material shortages and Leyland’s infamous<br />
quality control resulted in it being regarded as a lemon. The 1974 Arab oil embargo<br />
added another hurdle and a total of 18,007 cars were produced before Leland pulled the<br />
plug in 1975. Only 70 of the Force 7 Coupes were produced and Leyland crushed 60 of<br />
them so the surviving cars are rare indeed.<br />
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