Leyland P76 – Anything but average.
Born into a climate of economic, social and political upheaval, and coming from one of the smallest manufacturers in Australia, the P76 was set to be an underdog from the very beginning. The Australian arm of the British Motor Corporation, Leyland Australia, had seen the need to have a large family car in their stables, and thus the idea for the P76 was born. Aimed to compete directly with the Ford Falcon and Holden Kingswood, it was decided that it should have a similar wheelbase to the Falcon, have more interior space than a Valiant, and a bigger boot than the Kingswood, and be more reliable than all three. With a meagre development budget of just $21m AUD ($283m AUD in today’s money) Leyland Australia set about developing the P76 with a heaping pile of features not found on any locally manufactured car at the time, and some that took nearly 10 years for the “Big Three” to incorporate.
The P76 was developed with a new 4.4 litre alloy V8 or 2.6 litre six cylinder engine connected to either a 3 speed manual column shift, a 4 speed manual floor shift, or a 3 speed automatic Borg Warner gearbox. It was fitted with MacPherson strut front suspension, 4 link coil spring live axle rear suspension, power disc brakes, and side intrusion bars as well, another first for the P76. The body shell was a monocoque unibody construction which gave the car a surprisingly low kerb weight of 1275kg, a good 230kg lighter than its counterparts. Its interior was roomy and well appointed and featured a cavernous boot, so large in fact that one of its claims to fame was the ability to house an entire 44 gallon drum and close the lid! The exterior styling set it aside from the softer Falcon and Kingswood, and was affectionately known as “The Wedge”.
With all of these features it took out Wheels Magazine’s coveted ‘Car of the Year’ award for 1973. Australians flocked to Leyland dealerships to buy the new wonder car but were met with an immediate shortage of cars, and long delivery delays. Flagging under the pressure to supply, Leyland rushed to deliver cars, and many had issues. Within months any problem – seemingly no matter how small - became national news and the view of the general public switched from wonder car to lemon. To make matters worse, British Leyland was crumbling and unable to support Leyland Australia, in fact there were rumours of British Leyland siphoning funds from Leyland Australia further worsening the situation. At the same time Australia was hit with a ‘Credit Squeeze’ and the pressure of the 1973 oil crisis pushed large family cars firmly out of fashion. By the mid 1970’s the perfect storm of conditions had killed Leyland, and with it the P76.
Meanwhile, the P76 was proving to be a contender on the world rally circuit, winning the Targa Florio section of the 1974 World Rally, and placed 13th overall. Leyland celebrated this victory by releasing the “Targa Florio” version with mag wheels, a sports steering wheel, limited slip diff and graphics pack.
The short-lived production run of the P76 ended in November 1974 with 18007 cars produced. It’s estimated that around 5000 cars still survive to this day in the hands of die-hard enthusiasts. Since its inception, the P76 has been a trend-setter, a polariser, a pariah, but undeniably a key part of Australia’s motoring history.
Love it or hate it, it’s earned it’s place as one of Australia’s most memorable cars.
Now, 50 years after the release of the P76 to the Australian public, Authentic Collectables are excited to announce to collectors the P76 Targa Florio in Omega Navy, has been produced in 1:18 scale sealed body with high detail. As with all our releases in 1:18, this model will produced in an exclusive limited edition and will include an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
