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Posted at: 2019-12-12 22:59:52
As far as getting a shape for the ADO74 was concerned, looking at the different mock-ups, it's clear no definitive shape seems to have emerged. A possibility was from Michelotti (Webster's go to designer) & while it was distinctive, it lacked the attractiveness of Renault's 5.
Michelotti's design was rejected in favour of an in-house Harris Mann 1 & while his initial sketch looked gd, none of the mock-ups seems to have captured the essence of what the concept required: a distinctive, attractive, stylish car - in essence, a typical supermini.
One of the better ADO74 proposals is picture 2. Note the rather neat integrated bumper treatment (body-coloured too) which may not have made it to production. Note the engine designation of 1300 (the K-Series' unit's capacity limit). Note: the cars behind were potential Marina facelifts for project ADO73.
Pictures 3 & 4: the 1st shows a distinctive number-plate location & neat headlamp/side-light arrangement. It's not cute, though, is it? The same could be said for the other proposal too. Note how these are widely different & indicate the lack of a clear design vision.
Pictures 5 & 6:it's hard to be charitable about these proposals. The car in picture 5 has an American look about it (& that's not a compliment), while the other car is bland & bloated at the sides.
Picture 7: another Mann proposal & has a nice profile though I think itโs affected by a messy & fussy front treatment. Note the swage lines on the sides, which such a touch of the TR7s about it.
ADO74 side profiles: you can see these have all the hallmarks of Harris Mann, the 2nd 1 esp so (with its Triumph TR7-like swage line). These look quite neat, though the 2nd car seems a little fussy in the B-pillar treatment.
While the designers fretted about a shape, an ADO16 bodyshell was modified to act as a prototype for the ADO74's running gear. Here the bodyshell is being 'cut and shut' to reduce its length by 8.9 cm (3.5in) to accommodate the ADO74's understructure.
In spite of all these proposals, BL pulled the plug on ADO74 in late 1973. The decision, not 1 of BLโs better ones, would set back their supermini plans by at least 4yrs...
But thatโs another story..