The story of the Allegro's conception, development and its controversial life spent in the full glare of the media spotlight.
The Allegro is a rare example of a car which singularly failed to improve upon the model it was intended to replace. Yet things could have turned out very differently...
The development story
The story of the Allegro's conception, development and its controversial life spent in the full glare of the media spotlight. |
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Drawings & prototypes
This gallery offers an insight into the Allegro's development cycle, from its early origins as a rebodied ADO16, via stylist Harris Mann's rakish designs, to the final, slightly podgy car that made it into production. |
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Tech: Hydragas supsension explained
Hydragas suspension was one of the quiet achievements pioneered and refined by British Leyland - and yet, it never received the praise it deserved. KEITH ADAMS briefly explains how the system works. |
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Allegro 1.1/1.3: the rivals
The Allegro was up against some pretty talented opposition. Here, we pit the A-Series powered models against its immediate rivals. |
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Vanden Plas 1500
The Allegro-based Vanden Plas 1500 was the last-ever car to be produced under the BMC-created Vanden Plas marque, having been conceived on a tight budget to replace the AD016-based Princess 1300. Here we take a look at both these models, and how they brought Vanden Plas motoring to a whole new sector of the market. |
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Innocenti Regent
A rare chance to see some shots of the Allegro's short-lived Italian cousin. |
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The Crayford-Spikins Allegro convertible
Well, this was one way of stopping the rear screen from popping out... |
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London-Tashkent... by Allegro
Karl Parsons is obviously a glutton for punishment, because following his adventure to Dakar in an Allegro, he decided to do the same thing - except his destination was Central Asia. Brave man... |
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Staples2Naples... by Allegro
At the end of 2005, Keith Adams, Declan Berridge and Alexander Boucke set out on an adventure in the 'Banger Rally for Wage Slaves'. They made it to Naples, but not without the odd mishap or two on the way... |
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Plymouth-Dakar... by Allegro
At the end of 2003, entrants left the UK to endure on of the most amazing banger rallies ever devised: the Plymouth-Dakar. Here is Karl Parsons' account of the event, and how his Allegro 1300 performed... |
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Allegro at 30
In May 2003, the Allegro celebrated its 30th anniversary. We marked the occasion the following month with a special Car of the Month feature, assessing the car's place in the history of BMC>Rover. |
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Allegro: a personal perspective
Michael Wynn-Williams on how his dad's Allegro saved his life... |
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Picture gallery
A collection of Allegro images showing it as it appeared in original brochures, press photos and adverts. |
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Publicity material
Here you'll find a useful listing of Allegro-related brochures and press photos, featuring items from both the UK and overseas markets. All of the press photos listed can be viewed online; some of the brochures can also be viewed in full, while for most of the others, the covers can either be viewed or previewed. New items will be added from time to time, as they become available. |
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