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Austin Montego
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Austin Montego
The Austin Montego is a British family car that was produced from 1984 to 1994, first by British Leyland and then by its successor the Rover Group. The Montego was the replacement for both the rear-wheel drive Morris Ital and the front-wheel drive Austin Ambassador ranges to give British Leyland an all-new competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier.
On its launch, it was sold as both an Austin and a performance-enhanced MG. It was the last car to be launched under the Austin marque, which was used until a facelift introduced for the 1989 model year - afterwards, the Montego was sold without a marque, as the Austin name was phased out. Production of the saloon Montego ended in 1993 following the introduction of the Rover 600 Series, while the estate remained in production until December 1994.
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 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, 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.
The Montego offered many improvements over the Maestro, many of which were later incorporated into the latter, such as a new SOHC engine (the S-series), and a more robust dashboard. As with the Maestro, there was a high-performance 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[according to whom?] and featured a rally-style tachometer, a service indicator and a representation of the car showing open doors, lights left on, etc.
An estate variant, with larger luggage capacity than its competitors, two additional rear-facing child seats and self-levelling suspension, also styled by Roy Axe, followed shortly, winning the company a Design Council award.
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.
The Montego was launched on 25 April 1984. It was initially available as a four-door saloon only, filling the gap in the range left by the discontinuation of the Morris Ital saloon two months earlier. However, it would be produced alongside the Ital estate until that model was discontinued in August 1984.
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Austin Montego
The Austin Montego is a British family car that was produced from 1984 to 1994, first by British Leyland and then by its successor the Rover Group. The Montego was the replacement for both the rear-wheel drive Morris Ital and the front-wheel drive Austin Ambassador ranges to give British Leyland an all-new competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier.
On its launch, it was sold as both an Austin and a performance-enhanced MG. It was the last car to be launched under the Austin marque, which was used until a facelift introduced for the 1989 model year - afterwards, the Montego was sold without a marque, as the Austin name was phased out. Production of the saloon Montego ended in 1993 following the introduction of the Rover 600 Series, while the estate remained in production until December 1994.
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 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, 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.
The Montego offered many improvements over the Maestro, many of which were later incorporated into the latter, such as a new SOHC engine (the S-series), and a more robust dashboard. As with the Maestro, there was a high-performance 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[according to whom?] and featured a rally-style tachometer, a service indicator and a representation of the car showing open doors, lights left on, etc.
An estate variant, with larger luggage capacity than its competitors, two additional rear-facing child seats and self-levelling suspension, also styled by Roy Axe, followed shortly, winning the company a Design Council award.
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.
The Montego was launched on 25 April 1984. It was initially available as a four-door saloon only, filling the gap in the range left by the discontinuation of the Morris Ital saloon two months earlier. However, it would be produced alongside the Ital estate until that model was discontinued in August 1984.
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