The Austin Victoria. According to Julian Marsh, who drove the car some time back, it suffered from a rather "difficult" gear change and was fitted with an eight-track stereo!
The three-box ADO16, as restyled by Michelotti.
The Austin Victoria. According to Julian Marsh, who drove the car some time back, it suffered from a rather "difficult" gear change and was fitted with an eight-track stereo!
n October 1972, Authi replaced its Morris and MG ADO16 models with the Victoria (Spanish for Victory, so not named after a girl, queen, place or station). There is a rumour that the name was a chosen as a sardonic comment on the similarity of Michelotti's styling job to his previous Triumph 1500 design, particularly evident from the rear. The bodyshell was borrowed from the Austin Apache produced in South Africa. It has to be said that in reality, the Victoria was a failure, as was Authi itself, although one can't help wondering whether it could have been a success in the UK market...
This MG-badged Victoria (above), with a tuned, twin-carb (83bhp) version of the 1275cc engine, twin headlamps and a revised interior, was shown at the Barcelona Motor Show in April 1973, but never entered production. (Picture: "MG: The Untold Story", by David Knowles).
Could the Mk II version have saved Authi?
For some time now there has been evidence, in particular on the Spanish Authi chat forum, that Mk II versions of the Austin Victoria were being prepared for launch just months before a disastrous fire engulfed part of the Authi factory in Landaben on 9 October 1974. It seems that this fire was one of the causes of the disappearance of Authi. However, it also seems that some examples of Mk II Victorias had already been sold on the Spanish market some years before the model's impending launch was reported in the Spanish motoring press. Another twist in the fate of the Austin Victoria? Read on...
The story starts with the discovery of an article published in the July 1975 issue of the monthly Spanish car magazine "Quatroruedas" announcing that Mk II versions of the Austin Victoria had been readied for sale, but that the version had got no further than the pre-production stage. The text was accompanied by photographs of the front and rear of what was supposed to be a prototype version of the car and in which Mk II badges could clearly been seen fixed to the radiator grille and bootlid. The article goes on to say that apart from the badges, the main differences between this MkII version and the previous (let's say, MkI) versions were a front-mounted radiator instead of a normal side-mounted one, together with an electric fan, plus newly-designed seats incorporating headrests and a completely different dashboard which, it was rumoured, might have been a copy of the Austin Apache one.
It finishes by saying that two or three examples of this model were built before the disastrous fire destroyed many valuable components of this version, and that the Mk II never went into production due to the subsequent closure of the Authi factory. Perhaps I should point out here that it seems that these Mk II versions were in no way connected with the Authi MG Victoria which was displayed on the Authi stand at the Feria del Automóvil in Barcelona in April 1973.
However, the story takes on another twist, as several 1973-74 Victoria Mk IIs have now come to light. A regular contributor to the Authi chat forum owns a red Victoria Mk II, while a green one (pictured above) appeared in the "For Sale" section of the December 20002 issue of the Spanish classic car magazine "Motor Clásico". When the owner of the red Mk II approached the former Authi (now Rover) dealers in the northern Spanish city of Burgos to enquire about the possibility of the existence of Mk II versions, he was told that one of their clients also has a Mk II, and that the main differences that they has seen were that the Mk IIs came with homocinetic transmissions instead of the rubber versions, a front-mounted radiator with a fan, front seats with headrests and a speedometer incorporating a tripmeter, together with a different dashboard design. When the son of an ex-Authi design office employee was asked about these mysterious Mk II versions, he said that they had been factory test cars. Some had been built incorporating new seats with headrests, while some had tinted glass, and others came with an electrical radiator fan.
What is not known is whether these Mk II versions of the Victoria now extant are in fact these ex-factory works cars which had been sold on at a later date, or whether there were also examples of Mk IIs which had been sold through Authi dealerships. This last point is interesting as it has also been suggested that the reason why so few Mk IIs were ever sold in Spain (whether ex-factory or via dealerships) was that they were NOT actually built in Spain at all, but brought in from abroad. As an aside to the story, a forum member has also stated that some South African Austin Apaches were in fact imported into Spain! I have tried to find out more about this last point on the Authi chat forum but so far to no avail.
So, how many Mk II versions of the Austin Victoria were there, either in production, being imported or being readied for production? Your guess is as good as mine! Anyway, basically that is the story as far as we can tell for the moment. Until new information comes to light, that is. I will post any new details as soon as I get them.
I would also be very interested, and grateful, if you have any reliable information which could be added to the above story, thus helping to tie up some of the loose ends and put everything into a better perspective.
Victoria MkII article written by Graham Arnold with reference to messages contributed by members of the Spanish Authi chat forum.
Gallery
A small selection of MkI Victoria images culled from brochures, adverts and magazines
Victoria pictured in the wild in 2008. (Picture: Rob Cawley)
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