Austin 3-Litre Prototypes
The Austin 3-Litre was no exception when it came to badge engineering within BMC in the '60s and '70s, despite several variations on the various in house products, the Austin 3-Litre was the exception when it came to actually building different models, some prototypes were investigated and two Rover V8 powered cars were built, one of them was sporting Wolseley trim and grille was actually in use during development. Despite this no factory variations ever came to fruition. Internal politics and slow sales of the 3-Litre stopped any foray into this area.
Wolseley V8
The Wolseley pictured here was fitted with a Rover 3.5 litre V8 engine, the car was a very early model as can be seen by the vented wheels, door pockets and lack of front quarter lights and sill covers. The marketing men at Rover were not happy with the prospect of this car going on sale, being similar weight, an identicle power unit and far superior suspension and handling, it would surely have been a threat to the soon to appear Rover P5B, internal politics at BL saw the cars development halted. Reports from the time were very favourable about the car, it was in use for some time for development and was well liked by all who were involved in it. "The best car they never built" is often quoted.
Austin 3-Litre VDP
In
House
coachbuilder VDP were given the task of producing their
version of the Austin 3-Litre. A mock up version was built as a
styling excersise with images being sent to dealers to gauge demand,
with little interest being shown a running car was never built. Look
carefully underneath this car and you can see the blocks supporting
it.