Morris Ital: the last car to wear the Morris badge

The Morris Ital was British Leyland’s stop-gap replacement for the Morris Marina between 1980 and 1984. It took its name from Italdesign, the studio of Giorgetto Giugiaro, but the styling was done in-house by Harris Mann on a very small budget. Saloons, estates, pickups and vans were offered, and the Ital was the last production car to wear the Morris badge.

Morris Ital at a glance

History of the Morris Ital

The Ital was given the design code ADO73 F/L because it was a facelift of the Series 2 Marina of 1976. British Leyland had employed Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign to manage the re-engineering of the Marina, and the new car took the studio’s name, although Italdesign had only a consultancy role in designing new tooling and fitting the changed parts into the existing production line. The styling was handled by Harris Mann, who on a limited budget gave the car a more contemporary look with new door handles, a lot of plastic moulding at the front and very few changes to the sheet metal: every front panel of the Ital is interchangeable with that of the Marina. Saloons got a restyled boot lid and much larger tail lights, while the estates were almost unchanged at the rear. The plan had been to call the car the Morris Marina Ital, but for most markets Michael Edwardes, BL’s chief executive, dropped the Marina name.

The engines and chassis were carried over from the Marina: 1.3- and 1.7-litre petrol units and rear-wheel drive, with the dashboard and interior largely unchanged, including a fascia panel that faced away from the driver. The coupé was not made in Ital form, but four-door saloon, five-door estate, pickup and van versions all continued. From October 1980 an automatic with the 2.0-litre O-Series engine was sold as the 2.0 HLS, the rarest Ital at about 1,000 cars, and in November 1981 all HL and HLS models received upgraded interior trim.

Longbridge and the end

In 1982 the production line moved from Cowley to Longbridge so that Cowley could be refitted for the Austin Maestro and the Montego. In September of that year the range was revised: the L and 2.0-litre models were dropped, the HL and HLS gave way to SL and SLX, and all cars received telescopic front dampers, parabolic rear springs, extra soundproofing and better trim. What was left consisted of the 1.3 SL and SLX saloon, the 1.3 SL estate, the 1.7 SLX saloon and the 1.7 SL saloon and estate. Saloons were dropped in February 1984, with the estates and vans following in the summer. The Ital sold reasonably well at the start of the 1980s because it was cheap to buy and run, and it managed 175,276 cars in all, although its rear-wheel drive looked old-fashioned next to the front-wheel-drive Vauxhall Cavalier and Talbot Alpine. Its successor was the Austin Montego of April 1984. Portuguese cars, built in Setúbal, kept the Marina badge as the Morris Marina 1.5 D and used a 37 hp 1.5-litre diesel, the only diesel Marina or Ital.

Design and features

• Italdesign name: the studio advised on tooling, not on the shape, which was drawn by Harris Mann.
• Cheap facelift: new front mouldings and tail lights over mostly unchanged Marina panels.
• Rear-wheel drive: by 1982 the Ital and the Ford Cortina were the only mass-market cars left in the class with it.
• Four body styles: saloon, estate, pickup and van.
• Last Morris: the final production car to carry the badge.

Morris Ital versions

• Ital 1.3 (1980–1984): the volume model in HL, HLS, SL and SLX trim.
• Ital 1.7 (1980–1984): larger petrol engine, later SL and SLX only.
• Ital 2.0 HLS automatic (1980–1982): O-Series engine, about 1,000 built.
• Estate, pickup and van: carried over from the Marina range.
• Morris Marina 1.5 D: Portuguese-assembled diesel version with the Marina badge.

The Ital was a facelift of the Morris Marina and the last Morris car; the Morris Minor had gone out of production nine years earlier. More cars are in the Morris collection.

Sources

• Morris Ital, English Wikipedia: design, range, sales, end of production