A Look at an Austin Allegro 3 Brochure

[@ajpdaniels]

I find these handbook run throughs surprisingly entertaining and your tone is pitched just right

[@TwinCam]

Thanks Anthony :)

[@stephenmarkland8316]

Great video Ed. You have an amazing ability to talk through these brochure's and make them interesting. We done mate. Steve.

[@TwinCam]

Aww thanks Steve, that's very kind :)

[@robertngreen6]

I have to admit to thinking Allegro 3 is the best of the bunch! Excellent brochure review Ed!

[@TwinCam]

Thanks again Robert :)

[@morrismckinnon6047]

A friend I knew in college had a black two door Allegro with a red brush painted stripe like that of Sarsky and Hutch! He fitted three more lights in the grill so the whole grill was filled with headlights! I can still remember him flying through the college carpark gates blowing the Dixie horns, Lol!

[@Dan-hq2js]

You've done it again👍 love these little pieces of nostalgia.

[@TwinCam]

Thanks Dan :)

[@stephenfox966]

I used to like collecting brochures from car dealerships when I was 13 years old.I liked the Humber or Rover brochures that had samples of leather from the seating attached and different colours.The wording and overall presentation was enough to sell someone even without a test drive.I lived in Solihull near Birmingham so there was much on offer to collect,sadly I did not keep them all.

[@a1harrogate]

I learned to drive, and passed my test, in an Allegro (in a sickly green colour). I passed my test first time, and although I knew nothing about cars, I found it an easy car to drive (driving school cars are always new and well-maintained). When the Allegro was introduced, I thought it was quite a modern and adventurous shape for its time. Unfortunately, they didn't stand the test of time, and I seem to recall they suffered from a shortage of body parts, like door/boot handles and locks. Nice looking car for its time.

[@jimmylawson6014]

My mate bought a brand new 1.5 HL in Denim blue, absolutely stunning

[@darrenwilson8042]

Say what you like but its personal choice....I like the Allegro 3 - a 2-door looks quite fetching in an Alfasud kind of way. I also liked the Maxi 2 as well - maybe I am weird lol.

[@TwinCam]

I think for me the problem is how narrow the grille is due to the big indicators and side light units. If that unit was under the bumper (like the Mini Clubman and Maxi) then twin-lamps might've looked a lot better to me! Who knows?!

[@Interdimensional27]

I like the HL versions best, i think the twin headlamp treatment makes it different enough from what has gone before to make people look again at the car. This was the era of old models hanging on pending the new and made for interesting cars. Some would criticise this practice but others would look at this ultimate development of the model (same for the Ital) and consider it the Allegro with the problems ironed out- as happened all too often in BL!

[@nickyjames8550]

I can't watch these Allegro videos , I had to sale my Allegro 😭😭😭 it still hurts 😭😭😭

[@safirahmed]

Useful information for time travellers visiting the UK in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

[@ant2312]

tbh I think that 1.7 HL at the start is the best looking

[@paulwalker3301]

Great video, good to see someone else who thinks the Allegro is a great car

[@TwinCam]

Thanks Paul :)

[@michaeltutty1540]

Great video, Ed. Very cool to see cars we did not get in Canada. At the end you mention that this brochure was released about the time the new company name and logo were coming to be. That explains the lack of badge you noted at the first page. Most of the time, brochure and early advertising photography is not fond using regular production cars. They are most often either preproduction or developmental/prototype units because the photos normally predate the start of regular production. Often the brochures are in the dealers well prior to delivery of the first cars, sometimes to tantalize prospective buyers, especially of the stock of the old generation is running low.

[@helenloughton2418]

Had three allegros 2 estates and a vp. Great reliable car no issues body work was solid drove up to inverness from solihull birmingham fully loaded never missed a beat and so comfortable.better than a escort in my opinion.

[@wernerbloemwagen6878]

Totally agree - velour is just the BEST!

[@richardgreenwood3355]

Yep, somewhere along the line the car manufacturers, or maybe the marketing teams, have managed to convince people that what they really want is the 'luxury' of leather seats. Cold in winter. Hot in summer. Slippery so you slide around. Easy to scratch. Or even worse, on lower models you might have 'simulated leather seats'.... or 'vinyl' as we used to call it in the 70s before manufacturers realised that it was nicer to have cloth-covered seats. What went wrong?

[@bigjohno242]

Great nostalgia Ed

[@stevetaylor8698]

Looking at the airborne Allegro, it does have a similarity to my Skoda Estelle of the time, with its twin headlamps and very similar colour.

[@russelljameson9118]

Allegro (Allagro) 3 estate in Eclipse Blue. Nice… Seriously?? 👍👍👍

[@benday1218]

load capacity to two decimal places - very accurate for BL!

[@TwinCam]

I hear build tolerances were to the nearest inch ;)

[@adrianwalsh5475]

Could you get your hands on a 18/22 series brochure? Would be nice to have a look at. Really enjoyed your videos on all the other cars, well done.

[@TwinCam]

I haven't got an 18/22 brochure, but I've borrowed a Princess one from a very kind viewer. That one will be coming soon!

[@adrianwalsh5475]

@@TwinCam looking forward to it

[@darrensmith6999]

I like the look of the Allegro 3 especially the twin headlights. I would love the Silver HL on the cover or the Equip (: Ps i have this brochure too.

[@frothe42]

Another smashing video Ed! For me, I like the bumpers on the HL models, but I cannot decide whether or not I like or dislike the headlamps. Maybe I like both the rectangular and the round headlamps. I do like the three door Estate, but no headrests seems like cost cutting, and certainly not safety minded. Of course, by this time British Leyland was exiting the American market, I believe 1980 was the last year of the MGB, the Rover 3500 V8 was another year or two away from import, that turned out to be a disaster, which left only Jaguar to be imported from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Such a shame, you in the UK 🇬🇧 manufactured such interesting vehicles, many of which we never received, most likely due to safety regulations and then emission requirements. I thoroughly enjoyed this and all of your videos, well done!

[@TwinCam]

Thanks again mate :)

[@markrl75]

Another great Allegro brochure video. I would point out however that a rear fog light was a mandatory requirement on all cars manufactured after October 1979. It was therefore a feature on all new cars.

[@TwinCam]

Ahh. I thought that rule came in in 1980!

[@grdn2607]

I have a sales brochure from 1979 for the Mini range. I was given it by a family friend that kept it from when he was a kid and his family got one.

[@darrensmith6999]

Have this brochure it was actually the first one i ever owned. Loved the look of 1.7 HL beautiful remember the Allegro Equipe ?

[@williamwoods8022]

Yep owned an Equipe and he should have done an Equipe Brochure with the Mk2 Allegro one.

[@TwinCam]

Unfortunately I do not have an extensive collection of brochures to choose from William. I am forever indebted to the kind viewers that have let me borrow these brochures for me to video. Without those kind people, these videos wouldn’t happen at all, never mind if I decline them because they don’t feature a rare special edition.

[@typos1477]

@@TwinCam I loved collecting brochures too, I ve still got loads in my loft, this one reminds me of the full AR range brochure I ve got circa 1982/3 featuring the Mini, Metro, Allegro 3, Ital, Ambassador and SD1, the Allegro section uses most of the pics from this.

[@patrickh7368]

I always thought the quad light model looked like the middle two were stuck over the grill somehow as they looked further forward than outer two.

[@Interdimensional27]

Also amusing is the Porsche adverts interrupting this video! I wonder what the Porsche dealer would say to a trade in of an Allegro!

[@mattw8332]

I was surprised that the 1.1 litre engine was available on the series 3. I guess that the 1.0 engine replaced it at around the time of the launch of the Metro. This must also be one of the earliest cars to kick off plastic wheel trims as standard manufactuters' items that we still have to this day. I do prefer a nicely styled steel wheel and/or hubcap as plastic trims are easily dislodged. Vauxhall Opel did steel wheel designs very well in the 1980s-90s imo.

[@philnewstead5388]

Matt W Thé 1.1 engine went on for some time as it was fitted to the Mini Clubman and some limited edition minis as well if my memory is correct, it was forty years ago. The wheel trims were held on by the wheel nuts which were fitted with a plastic collar to retain the trim. This arrangement was common across the range from the Mini right up to the Jaguars that weren't fitted with alloy wheels.

[@TwinCam]

A-Series engines at 998cc had been available since 1962 I believe, the same year it was first available at 1098cc, just in different models. After the upgrade to A+ for the Metro in 1980, it was only available in either 998cc or 1275cc.

[@philnewstead5388]

Twin-Cam The history of the A series in its various guises is quite complicated. I believe it was conceived as an 848cc (I would stand corrected on that it's 44 years since I went on the A and B series course) it quickly went to 998cc and then 1098 for the 1100 and later 1275 for the 1300 but also 1071 and 1301 for some competition and Cooper models.

[@grayfool]

I really want a 1.7HL Auto. The absolute pinnacle of how BL got it wrong. Strange combination of trying to be modern but still stuck in the past. Great little car. ANother good one Ed, thanks.

[@pymslane]

Is that non-badged steering wheel the same one that was in the first series Metro (badged)?

[@TwinCam]

Yes it is, although depending on the spec you could get the Metro with a few different wheels!

[@ratty383]

I never understood why the allegro wasn’t designed with a hatchback, the body shape lends itself to one so why the dated boot. BL made the same error with the Princess and then revised the decision with the Ambassador update...crazy management.

[@Woollylinnet]

The very simple reason is that the Maxi already had one, and BL felt that giving other models hatchbacks would take sales from the Maxi.

[@dj_efk]

Martyn is right, BL’s model range was too big (like the rest of the company), hence to differentiate the various models they ended up limiting the sales of them all, instead of making each one as bang on trend / with as much showroom appeal as possible, then phasing out whichever one was the least profitable. I do think the Allegro & Princess would have sold much better as a hatchback - along with some fundamental cultural changes early on in the 1970’s to improve cross-workforce relations and hence improve quality. I’ve owned examples of both models and they were both excellent, but then again they were already both 30+ years old by the time I owned them so they must have been amongst those that were built well in the first place. I gather there were a lot of lemons...

[@TwinCam]

It was completely understandable as to why the Princess didn't get a hatchback. The market was very conservative and BL didn't want it to take sales from the Maxi. The Allegro is a different story. It should have always had a hatchback.

[@levelcrossing150]

The Princess hatchback did actually exist as we had a used one arrive at our BL showrooms during the late 70's and it was exactly what we sales staff were all wanting, but this particular car had been converted by an outside company and I don't know who they were. I knew nothing about it's history but all I remember was that it was a white series one Princess with a full vinyl roof and quite a thin framed tailgate door if I remember right. I don't know how many were built and I never saw another again, so I doubt if any others exist.

[@williamwoods8022]

@@levelcrossing150 There were two different companies converting the Princesses into hatchbacks if I remember - There is a feature on them on the aronline website - an excellent website for BL/Austin Rover etc

[@lewis72]

My guess why the 1.1 base was 2-door only ,1.3 base was 4-door only but the 1.3L was 2 or 4 door was that by limiting the variations of bodystyles on a spec/engine combination kept costs down.

[@davidgibson4840]

The equip 1750 twin cars were quick for the time

[@bcfairlie1]

I love the Allegro 3. Pity we never got them in New Zealand

[@alphatrion100]

I have alway liked the look of these cars. Dont know why people say they are ugly. Just like the amc pacer. I liked that car too

[@sahhull]

I owned a 1.3 HL Allegro years ago... I paid £500 for it... Welded up the sills and ran it flawlessly or 3 years. It was one of the most reliable old cars Ive ever owned and it was fun to drive. I actually liked it, considering it was bought as a 'I need transport, that will do' car. It was stolen.... Shock horror and found a few days later a burnt out shell. Gutted. Then I bought a full service history 4 year old Mk3 Ford Escort RS Turbo... What a bag of sh1t. No wonder the owner wanted to sell it. I still dont get why people love the Ford RS so much.

[@Ian45968]

I've seen later Allegro 3's with front badges, I wonder why the first ones didn't have them?

[@adrianmassey6673]

I think the series 3s were updated towards the end of the production run, with the introduction of the A plus engine. They also changed the trim levels to L (which was the entry level model), HL and the quad headlight HLS

[@dj_efk]

Cue someone coming along making a joke about the badge supplier being on strike in the earlier production run....

[@TwinCam]

They did get badges after a while. I think they left it until they had fully rebranded from roundel to chevrons before they put it on the car.

[@liverush24]

I had a W-reg Allegro 3. Silver, 1.3 L. Mine had square headlamps. Mine was a 4-door. It could out-drag my mates' cars ( Opel Kadettes, MkII Escorts, etc ).

[@arkleyproductions1518]

Always thought the Allegro estate was a great little functional car.

[@lewis72]

I think it missed out by being a 3-door. If it were bought as a family car, then you have the faff of the rear passengers getting in & out... but then, so would owners of the Mk1 & 2 Escort estates and the Chevette estate.

[@JULIAN8845]

used to be taken to school when they were new with the square wheel which did not last long

[@markadams3261]

I had the front page silver 4 lamp one still a handsome car

[@markrossow6303]

same inside and outside door handles on my 1995 Disco 1 with 5-spd, but that shiny bright outside would be nice vs. black on mine Company car now has similar liftgate rear -- nice in rainy season

[@justas525]

Corect me if i'm wrong but i thought Allegro 3 came also in Equipe guise. The main question is why is it not mentioned in this brochure ?

[@TwinCam]

Yes it did. The Equipe was a special edition however, so it did not feature in the standard model range brochure.

[@justas525]

@@TwinCam Thanks for clearing that up. So in adition to the main range it needs limited edition brochure video

[@retr0naut823]

Agree totally on the looks. Allegro 1 and Allegro 2 look far better than the 3.

[@adampowell5376]

I notice they did not do a VP version of the Allegro 3.

[@TwinCam]

Nope. I think VdP’s works at Kingsbury had been closed by this point, so the Metro VdP et al were produced at the normal plants rather than coachbuilt.

[@stephenport4768]

Slightly re hashed Allegro along with the Maxi 2 and Morris Ital and Ambassador the Hydrogas suspension was cutting edge for it's time if only developed for extra reliability you would see car's of today with similar systems

[@levelcrossing150]

Another interesting little video and lighting greatly improved! The Allegro 3 had some nice updating on the inside but I think they cheapened it on the outside! I'm not too sure about those twin headlights, it's looks like something is missing and is all a bit lacklustre! BL were always very keen and practical with their generous load capacities, resulting in some very austere square looking designs which were not always pleasing to the eye. The estate version is typical of this and a criticism that I used to get off my customers was that they thought it looked like a hearse! It looks like the BL designers liked the look of the side window on the sporty and very gorgeous Reliant Scimitar, but somehow when they tried to apply it to the Allegro it all went wrong! I don't think we offered them in black for some reason!!!!!!!!!!

[@CortinasAndClassics]

I'm sure there was an allegro 3 gt with the quad headlights 🤔

[@danieleregoli812]

The Allegro 3 was also available with the [underpowered] 998cc engine in Italy, for fiscal reasons.

[@johncottonclassics]

Interesting as I have a Mk3 Allegro 1750 Manual Estate,now quite rare I believe, Features on my You Tube Channel Cottons Classics, I think the mk 3 , was the best of the allegros , most of the problems of the mk1 and 2 had seem to be sorted out.

[@car9723]

Seems like for me that quad headlamps somehow cured its look. I wonder whay if they installed that from the beginning.....

[@TwinCam]

I’d agree, though the grille doesn’t quite look wide enough for them. If the grille was wider and the clumsy indicators and sidelights were removed it may look better still.

[@johnmoruzzi7236]

They will have pinched the quad lamps from the Triumph Dolomite range - those kept single lamps for the base versions. Looks wrong without a central badge... shame.

[@anticat900]

I'm not so sure it was that spartan, the base fords of the same time were equally minimal with even carpets an option if available at all on a popular escort?

[@TwinCam]

Yeah, that's absolutely fair enough. The Mk2 Escort was pretty grim in terms of spec if you went for a Pop.

[@anticat900]

@@TwinCamthanks for the reply, I have a few late 70's ford booklets, and it always fascinated me the base models and how they still tried to portray a MK2 escort 1.1 popular as being luxurious 😊. I'm thinking of buying a layland next a daily driver, a maxi or Austin 1100 seem great value still.

[@TwinCam]

I did do a video on the Maxi last year if you’re interested. Certainly a very interesting and forward thinking car, but the 1100 is just fabulous. They look great, drive great, and are very usable in 2020.

[@nervo6321]

The Allegro 3 looks very odd to me with twin headlights...its still portly but in saying that its replacement the Maestro wasnt any better...

[@987654321Edd]

I always preferred the looks of the estate

[@davidjones637]

I think the Allegro 3 & Maxi 2 look better!

[@RichardMaguire110]

I drove an Allegro 3 in the 80's. I liked it and thoght it was how the Allegro should have been at launch. The de chroming and black details went down well back then. My favoutite change was the new instrument cluster. I recall follwong the Alegro's development in the 70's and it just diddn't cut it publicly although owvers knew theywere good to drive and people I knew liked them. But they did not say much in public about owning an Allegro. It was not cool to own one in the 70's, they were seen as cars for people who just didn't get it. Ford reigned supreme for cool in teh 70's, the larger the engine the better and the Essex V6 was tops. Because of the Sweeney Granadas were super cool, 3 Litre Granadas were ice cool. A capri 3.0 S wow, beyond words. Any Leyland car was excused, not promoted. Its was a shame becasue they were good but with poor repuations from the launch cars in any range which as ever were not fully developed. As CAR magazine said, Leyland used early car owners as development test drivers. Normally about 18 months into a new car range the faults were sorted and they became good with a poor repuation they could not be rid of. The Allegro was known as the Aggro or Allaggro by people who did not own them. Owners knew different but that made no impact on poor sales while Cortinas and Escorts were everywhere. The Sweeney and The Progessionals put the glitter on how cool fords were. Not so the Allegro. I liked and still liked the Allegro but still had to explain why I drove one back then. People really did not believe they were good. Two friends had Allegros back then and the negative comments they got became wearing. Putting black detailing on cars became a thing after 1978 when the MK1 Golf GTI was gaining recognition VW used black well on that car. Ford did it on their cars too think Cortinas with the S pack, the S Capri, 2.8 injection Granadas, Fiesta XR2 and so on. AFter years of chrome all the way from the 50's black simplicity was refreshing, sharp and popular. By the late 80's black was over and people wanted colour again. Although industrial grey made an appearance below the waistline of a car in 1987 and stuck around until the early 90's.

[@liverush24]

My '85 Mini City was badged as a Leyland car.

[@gabe4845]

I feel like I'm watching a young Big Clive review an old car brochure

[@garethparkin9498]

I have a couple of these brochures

[@sameyers2670]

Hydrogas needs no maintenance? Apart from a regas every so often. Did Allegeros get a drunken sag like Metros did?

[@TwinCam]

They need pumping back up every now and then. They naturally raise and lower based on temperature. Every Hydragas car does this. A regas is invasive the first time it’s done. People reckon a regas is necessary every 15/20 years to keep the ride comfortable and controlled. The fluid controls the ride height and damping, the gas controls the springing.

[@wasserglatte3696]

Formal alles sehr gut durchdachte und praktische Fahrzeuge, wenn sie nur von Arbeitern zusammengebaut gewesen wären, die Ihre Arbeit liebten. Aber genau das taten sie nie, weder beim Mini noch beim Rolls-Royce. Und das ist der Grund für den Niedergang aller Industrien auf der Insel.

[@TwinCam]

There's a lot of truth to that, although I also see that incompetence was at every level in the company. If there were no internal squabbles, then the Allegro may have been a very different looking car in 1973, and it would have been all the better for it.

[@typos1477]

Why dont you see velour anymore ? Cos everyones obsessed with leather, they dont seem to realise that leather is just what they used in low end cars before vinyl was invented.

[@garygriffiths2911]

I do enjoy these brochure romps - more please. Needless to say ' beauty is in the eye of the beholder' as the old adage has it, but it doesn't make much sense I think to (justifiably) criticise the awkward grill of the early Allegro and then opine that BL's efforts to tidy up the design on the Allegro 3 have made the car even less attractive somehow. The opposite is true is it not? While no great beauty methinks this restyling job was quite successful within its obvious limitations - much the same might be said about the 'Austin Ambassador' and even the notorious Morris Ital. Dare I go so far as to say that the top spec Allegro 3 HL featured on the cover of this brochure, with its opulent quad headlights, has something of the Alfasud about it - not that I'm claiming that any Allegro had much chance of staying with a hard driven Alfa on a twisty road of course ...

[@paul-h4j]

my father (dare i mention it) used to sell bl cars...now he had the original qartet steering wheel model

[@Richard-Bullock]

Another enjoyable video. Thank you. And I must agree with you about the quad headlamps. They look very out of place to my eyes.

[@TwinCam]

Thanks again Richard :)

[@jimbrown2044]

Pity it came too late to have wolseley and Riley versions.

[@alphatrion100]

Those had ugly front ends

[@AllThingsAlex]

Great video. Agreed, I much prefer the looks of the Mk1 & 2, much like what they did to the Mk3 Marina, I think all the plastic and pig iron bumpers ruined its looks.

[@weerobot]

Didn't know Allegros could fly...

[@stevedickson5853]

The lack of a badge on the steering wheel, BLs way of cutting costs ? ..

[@TwinCam]

I don't think so, as from about 6 months in they got badges on the grille and steering wheel. My theory is that they didn't put the new Austin badges on the car until the dealers etc. had rebranded.

[@sirmugman]

ah the allegro three when it sadly started to look more like a bulgding sack like kids got in the cheap toys as the lights and the front seems to look out of place and that cover hmm alfa remayo look a like? as it does have that look, but it was the last of it kind until the model 4 came along though that was called maestro but its clearly a allegro just with a few maybe quite a few tweeks

[@TwinCam]

The Maestro and Allegro have nothing in common. The Maestro was a clean sheet design that owed nothing to the Allegro.

[@DrEvilsFinger]

Since when did a car being ‘easy to clean’ form part of the brochure blurb. Smells a bit desperate

[@bobmirdiff2043]

They were!

[@TwinCam]

That line's surprisingly common in late 60s and early 70s brochures for some strange reason.

[@mcdowellbuses]

Keep the videos come my car has for m.o.t for. U to Vid when u like

[@davidgibson4840]

I had a 1.0 45hp jesus it was slow... I mean proper slow

[@AgathaAndAnything]

I'm not a fan of the exterior of the 3, the black bumpers and plastic trims are ewww, the quad headlights are awful too but I do like the interior, I think the 2 was prettier but I'm biased, although I do quite fancy an estate.....

[@gabekarp3008]

Looks kinda mid-70's Saab

[@stewartbrown4394]

The estate is the better looking car.

[@lewis72]

I suspect that you've been watching too many Ashens videos as your format is eerily close to his in this video, except your reviewing automotive literature whereas he reviews chicken in a can.

[@TwinCam]

Hmmm yeah I can see that. I don't watch Ashens an awful lot, but I can see it!

[@RICHARD95918]

They were copying the VW Mk1 and MK 2 Golf with the round headlights shame they did not have the build quality and power😂

[@TwinCam]

There were stacks of cars out there with round headlamps, and BL had a number in their range. It was just coming back into fashion and it was an opportunity to mix up the way the Allegro looked for its final few years. The car that everybody else is mentioning is the Alfasud, and the Mk2 Golf wouldn't be launched for another four years.