Tony’s recent article marking 60 years of the ADO16 means it’s the perfect time for the latest in our series of Great Drives, courtesy of the Great British Car Journey in scenic Derbyshire. As well as housing an eclectic collection of classics, the museum uniquely allows visitors the opportunity to drive a wide selection of cars, with new models recently added. The ADO16 is represented on fleet by the range topping Austin 1300GT, and that’s our subject today.
I won’t rehash the potted history of the ADO16 so soon after Tony’s piece; you can read that for yourselves. However, I will draw your attention to the section detailing impressions from period road testers. Tony wrote: Press reactions to the ADO16 were generally in favour. Autocar magazine tested an Austin 1100 in October 1963 and had nothing but good to say about the car’s ride – “almost unparalleled…by any but the most sophisticated steel springs” – and handling that was “almost unbeatable”. The magazine also loved the car’s looks, calling it “one of the neatest and most handsome small cars on the road today”. High praise indeed, built upon when they later noted the MG 1300’s “remarkable performance”. Would their observations hold true today?
I’m not the biggest fan of Issigonis’ work and I debated on these pages in August 2021 whether he was a “hero or villain”. The thing about Issigonis was that he was undoubtedly very creative but the financial realities faced by BMC and BL in the 1960s and 1970s meant he was probably working in the wrong environment. He was emboldened by the early success of the Mini and scaled-up the basic design into the ADO16. It hit the market at a fortuitous time and compared well to the less advanced Ford Anglia and Vauxhall Viva. Much was also made of the Alex Moulton-designed Hydrolastic suspension, but whilst Issigonis’ commitment to delivering cutting edge engineering may have been noble, BMC was heading for a financial hole. Desperate for cash flow, BMC were often guilty of launching products before they were ready, so I approach the ADO16 with a number of preconceptions. I want to like it but I’m all too aware of the inherent faults found in early Minis. Will the ADO16 be any better?
The cards are stacked in the Austin’s favour as our test car is the aspirational 1300GT model. That’s about as fancy as any variant got, well-appointed and blessed with a Twin Carb 1275cc A-series engine that pumps out 70 heady horses. Note the bright red paintwork, GT badges, sporty wheel trims and vinyl roof. See how it sits slightly lower on its suspension than its budget brethren. Check out the multiple dials on the dashboard and the expensive wooden gear knob. This car is a world away from the humble origins of the Austin 1100. Perhaps we are meant to think of it as a 4-door Mini Cooper for grown-ups.
Whether you think the 1300GT has the appearance of a convincing road-racer for the more discerning punter, or you think it looks like a tarted-up granny’s car depends on your perspective. For those of us who remember decrepit 1100s still stalking the roads in large numbers well into the 1980s, the contrast is notable. In my mind, all Austin 1100s were finished in a particular shade of blue punctuated by galloping rot and sagging Hydrolastics. Whereas the Mini benefitted from a large enthusiast following the 1100 was invariably just an old snotter, used for stumbling a few miles to church once a week or found badly parked outside the post office on pensions day. It wasn’t aspirational transport. But if I make the effort to mentally transport back myself back to the early 1970s and press my nose up against the BL showroom window, the 1300GT might just look like a small object of desire.
Whilst the ADO16 model range debuted in 1962, the 1300GT was a very late arrival, not hitting the tarmac until 1969. However, the original design was pretty advanced for the early 60’s so the core elements were still credible nearly ten years later. Flumping down into the driver’s seat my initial observation is one of being sat in a big Mini. The seats are much more supportive than anything found in the smaller car but the driving position and general ambience is very familiar. It’s roomier than a Mini so there’s more legroom but the high pedals and steering wheel angled like that of a bus are giveaways that the cars are closely related, should you have recently landed from Mars and weren’t sure. The cabin is quite a comfortable place and the rear seat passengers even get a central armrest. The dashboard is logically laid out, and while visibility of the instruments isn’t perfect you can console yourself with the fact they sit in attractive chrome bezels.
It won’t come as a shock to learn the twin-carb engine sometimes needs some persuasion to start cleanly from stone-cold, but it warms up quickly and soon settles down. The combination of quite a powerful engine in a car weighing only 862kg is very appealing. The A-series is happy to rev and while the carbs will gobble fuel by modern standards, the resulting 30mpg was considered quite acceptable back in the day. Performance in gear is strong and it feels livelier than the published figures would suggest, apparently taking a non-spectacular 13.9 seconds to reach 60 mph.
The 1300GT is brilliantly manoeuvrable though, which is more relevant to the overall driving experience. The rack and pinion steering is sharp and it’s got a good amount of feel; the relatively small diameter steering wheel adding weight despite the narrow tyres. Disc brakes on the front means it stops well too. However, from my perspective, the technical elephant in the room lies beneath. The GT boasts a front anti-roll bar so it doesn’t lean noticeably on the bends, but the effect of the Hydrolastic system is inescapable. I appreciate some people may be a fan but I’ve never driven a BMC Hydrolastic car that feels as good as I imagine it would on conventional springs. The problem is that it never truly settles. The ride doesn’t crash or bang but it suffers from vertical float which doesn’t quite suit the character of a car that presents itself as a GT. It would definitely be more composed on coils but Issigonis knew best so there we go…
The Austin 1300GT is a slightly flawed GT but a perfectly fine car. It’s an amusing thing to dart around in and anything with a vinyl roof gets bonus points in my book. Most importantly it sounds great, unexpectedly good in fact. The usual BMC transmission whine is tempered by effective sound deadening leaving the exhaust note dominant, a lovely full tone that’s unexpectedly deep and resonant. On the right road on the right day, that would be enough to keep me entertained and make me forgive the rest of it.
If you want to experience a well-preserved Austin 1300GT for yourself, you can drive the very car featured here by visiting the Great British Car Journey at Ambergate, Derbyshire. Opened in summer 2021, the museum has rapidly become a must-visit destination for lovers of old British cars and offers an interactive journey through 100 years of triumph and disaster. The “Drive Dad’s Car” experience lets visitors test a wide range of makes and models dating from the 1930s to the 1990s. Although you can decide on the day, the best way to secure your chosen drive is to book in advance. Go to https://www.greatbritishcarjourney.com to plan your visit.
