327:
319:. Italdesign had been involved in a consultancy role, to help design new tooling and assembly methods, and work out how to integrate the altered parts of the new car into the existing Marina production chain. That is why, despite bearing the studio's name, the Ital is absent from lists of styling jobs handled by the firm. It was originally planned to brand the car as the Morris Marina Ital but, for most markets, the Marina name was dropped on the orders of British Leyland CEO,
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Morris Itals plummeted in the late 1980s and the 1990s, hundreds, possibly thousands, of functioning Itals were bought by Morris Minor owners. These were cannibalised for their 1275cc A+ engines, gearboxes, and suspensions. As of 2023, there are only 56 Morris Itals still taxed and on the roads in the UK, with another 133 Itals declared SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notice).
31:
570:
problems to its predecessor, the Morris Marina. Despite being designated as a successor to the Marina, surviving Itals are actually rarer than
Marinas today on UK roads, although the Morris Marina Owners Club and Morris Ital Register are making sure the few remaining examples survive. As the value of
400:
During the 1970s, British
Leyland had been working on the development of an all-new car to replace the Morris Marina and the Ital was only ever intended as a stop gap replacement between the demise of the Marina and the launch of an entirely new model. However, a shortage of funds meant that the
396:
Thus cropped, the range then consisted of the 1.3 SL and SLX saloon, 1.3 SL estate, 1.7 SLX saloon, and the 1.7 SL saloon and estate. The saloon models were dropped in
February 1984, with the estate models remaining in production until the summer of that year.
764:
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Already outdated by the time it was launched, and continually saddled with build quality problems, the Ital soon gained a poor reputation. Although the Itals' reliability was never an issue, as it used tried and tested components, it was said to have similar
315:, which had been produced by the company since 1971. Although BL's advertising emphasised the car's connection with the Italian design house, Italdesign did not have a direct role in the styling of the new car, which had been handled in-house by
388:
Finally, in
September 1982, a revised Ital range was introduced. The L and 2.0-litre models were dropped, and the HL and HLS were replaced by the SL and SLX models. Front suspension was changed to telescopic front dampers across the range, and
384:
power unit, as the range topping 2.0HLS. With a very short production run, only about 1,000 2.0HLS models were sold and the 2.0HLS remains the rarest Ital model. In
November 1981, all HL and HLS models were fitted with upgraded interior trim.
757:
750:
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The Ital sold reasonably well in
Britain during the start of the 1980s, as it offered a competitive asking price and low running costs. The Ital's technology differed from many of its contemporaries, such as the
303:
The Ital was given the design code ADO73 F/L (because it was considered a facelift of the Series 2 Marina (ADO73) launched in 1976) and was first launched on 1 July 1980. It took its name from
522:
was kept alive solely by the Metro van, and three years later the Morris badge had finally been consigned to history after 75 years, when it was removed from the van version of the Metro.
436:
diesel engine, producing 37 hp. Portuguese Itals retained the "Marina" badge (actually "Morris Marina 1.5 D") and were the only Marina/Itals to receive a diesel engine of any kind.
518:
The saloon was dropped from the line in
February 1984 with the van and estate completing outgoing contracts for another six months, until they too were axed. From this point, the Morris
515:. At this time, the Ital received an upgrade with different front and rear suspension (parabolic rear springs and telescopic front dampers) and models were redesignated SL and SLX.
642:
Costa, André & Georges-Michel
Fraichard, ed. (September 1981). "Tour de monde de l'insolite" [World tour of the weird]. Salon 1981: Toutes les Voitures du Monde.
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529:, launched in April 1984 as a four-door saloon, with a five-door estate arriving in October 1984, the van versions being succeeded by the van bodystyle of the
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and interior of the Marina were also carried over largely unaltered, including the main fascia panel, which faced 'away' from the driver. The Marina's
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The Ital was also assembled in
Portugal, where it retained the predecessor model's 'Marina' designation. The car in this picture has an
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557:(Chinese: 环都). Van and pick up variants were also produced. Chengdu Auto Works is thought to have closed down in May 1999.
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1568:†Rover, Land Rover, and Triumph were not part of British Motor Holdings but became part of British Leyland in 1968.
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After the introduction of the Opel Ascona C / Vauxhall
Cavalier Mark II in August 1981, the Ital and Ford's
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553:, China. In 1998, the Ital estate (utilising a locally made chassis) reappeared there, under the name
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After production in the United Kingdom ceased, the Ital's production tooling was sold to the
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From October 1980, an automatic version of the Ital was available with the 2.0-litre
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483:) were the only European mass volume cars in the sector to retain rear wheel drive.
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The Ital had revised exterior styling, but retained the Marina's 1.3- and 1.7-litre
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4,340 mm (170.9 in) (saloon), 4,380 mm (172.4 in) (estate)
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Although most Itals were manufactured in the United Kingdom, there were also
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were also fitted, together with additional soundproofing and improved trim.
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launch was delayed by several years, until it emerged in April 1984 as the
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assembled Itals which were all equipped with the ancient 1.5 litre
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produced until 1984. Production of the Ital was switched from
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badge, although there was a Morris badged van version of the
361:
variant was not produced in Ital form, but the four door
472:. It managed sales of 175,276 cars of all derivatives.
588:
Also known as : Morris Marina, www.aronline.co.uk
377:versions, were carried over from the Marina range.
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738:Morris Marina Owners Club and Morris Ital Register
646:(in French) (14 & 15). Paris: Homme N°1: 215.
491:The Ital was the last production car to wear the
1380:2000 / 2300 / 2400 / 3500 / V8-S / Vitesse (SD1)
330:A Morris Ital Estate seen in Cambridge in 1981.
287:, it was available in a variety of bodystyles.
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8:
283:(BL) from 1980 to 1984. A successor to the
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20:
680:Van Ingen Schenau, Erik (26 July 2011).
279:is a medium-sized car that was built by
580:
545:Auto Works, a company belonging to the
659:"Unsung Heroes: Morris Ital 1980-1984"
443:(IMA) then switched to producing the
7:
682:"Morris Marina/Ital: Huandu CAC6430"
323:, and only the Ital name was used.
14:
657:Adams, Keith (21 November 2019).
707:"How Many MORRIS ITAL Are Left?"
439:The British Leyland factory in
1:
601:Marina/Ital Development Story
525:The Ital's successor was the
236:1,640 mm (64.6 in)
220:2,440 mm (96.1 in)
89:, United Kingdom (1982–1984)
84:, United Kingdom (1980–1982)
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1502:4-Litre Princess Limousine
590:Retrieved 26 February 2018
1611:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
1596:Cars discontinued in 1999
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1370:3.5 Litre / 3½ Litre (P5)
1328:1700 / 1800 / 2000 / 2200
785:
537:Later production in China
299:1984 Morris Ital SLX rear
59:Morris Marina (Portugal)
28:
1586:British Leyland vehicles
1052:2.4, 3.4 & 3.8 Litre
608:20 November 2008 at the
1591:Cars introduced in 1980
1512:Princess 1100/1275/1300
1375:2000 / 2200 / 3500 (P6)
50:(Austin Rover division)
774:British Motor Holdings
721:"All vehicles (VEH01)"
629:3 October 2011 at the
425:
419:early 1980s Portuguese
391:parabolic rear springs
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61:Huandu CAC6430 (China)
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338:1983 Morris Ital Van
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1507:Princess 4-litre "R"
1262:Morris Oxford Farina
669:on 12 December 2022.
1601:Italdesign vehicles
1292:1800 / 2200 (ADO71)
1287:1800 / 2200 (ADO17)
1108:Series II & III
1021:2.5 V8 & V8-250
924:1800 / 2200 (ADO71)
914:1800 / 2200 (ADO17)
622:Marina-Based Models
409:Portuguese assembly
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422:registration plate
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305:Giorgetto Giugiaro
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470:front wheel drive
468:, which all used
464:, as well as the
462:Vauxhall Cavalier
291:Design and launch
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889:A110 Westminster
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547:First Auto Works
487:Demise of Morris
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114:Large family car
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56:Also called
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36:
32:
27:
22:
18:Motor vehicle
16:
1517:1500/1.5/1.7
1301:
995:Sprite Mk IV
715:
701:
689:. Retrieved
685:
675:
667:the original
662:
652:
643:
637:
621:
616:
600:
595:
583:
564:
554:
540:
524:
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379:
341:
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276:
274:
194:
185:
176:
162:
110:Mid-size car
43:Manufacturer
15:
1553:18/85 / Six
1548:1100 / 1300
1495:Vanden Plas
1282:1100 / 1300
1118:Range Rover
1101:Land Rover†
909:1100 / 1300
858:Vanden Plas
479:(and later
458:Opel Ascona
317:Harris Mann
277:Morris Ital
254:Predecessor
24:Morris Ital
1580:Categories
1031:Double Six
949:Mini Metro
944:Ambassador
879:A40 Farina
810:Land Rover
624:, AROnline
603:, AROnline
575:References
561:Reputation
505:Longbridge
430:Portuguese
369:, and the
309:Italdesign
249:Chronology
210:Dimensions
148:Powertrain
94:, Portugal
87:Longbridge
66:Production
1277:Mini Moke
1185:1100/1300
1026:Sovereign
969:Kimberley
904:Mini Moke
549:Group in
445:Mini Moke
355:dashboard
264:Successor
216:Wheelbase
69:1980–1984
1526:Wolseley
1481:Dolomite
1411:Spitfire
1399:Triumph†
1321:Princess
863:Wolseley
836:Princess
686:AROnline
663:AROnline
627:Archived
606:Archived
434:B-series
382:O-Series
196:B-series
187:O-series
178:O-series
164:A-series
78:Assembly
38:Overview
1486:Acclaim
1416:Vitesse
1385:Quintet
1231:Clubman
1200:Montego
1195:Maestro
1127:Leyland
1004:Daimler
959:Montego
954:Maestro
939:Allegro
929:3-Litre
852:Triumph
816:Leyland
800:Daimler
691:9 April
543:Chengdu
477:Cortina
441:Setúbal
351:chassis
140:2-door
137:pick-up
135:2-door
130:5-door
125:4-door
92:Setúbal
1616:Sedans
1558:Saloon
1543:Hornet
1456:Toledo
1406:Herald
1363:Rover†
1297:Marina
1250:Morris
1236:Cooper
1226:1275GT
1180:Midget
1144:Marina
1077:E-Type
1062:S-Type
1045:Jaguar
974:Apache
964:Tasman
919:Sprite
872:Austin
831:Morris
805:Jaguar
790:Austin
520:marque
501:Cowley
493:Morris
481:Sierra
371:pickup
367:estate
363:saloon
353:. The
241:Height
225:Length
200:diesel
154:Engine
132:estate
127:saloon
82:Cowley
1538:6/110
1533:16/60
1436:TR250
1337:Riley
1312:Nomad
1257:Minor
1190:Metro
1036:DS420
1016:DR450
894:Gipsy
846:Rover
841:Riley
497:Metro
451:Sales
359:coupé
233:Width
105:Class
1471:2000
1466:1500
1461:1300
1426:Stag
1349:4/72
1307:1500
1302:Ital
1267:Mini
1241:Moke
1221:1000
1209:Mini
1139:Moke
1134:Mini
1087:XJ12
1072:420G
990:3000
934:Maxi
899:Mini
821:Mini
776:and
693:2013
568:rust
511:and
373:and
346:and
275:The
1451:TR8
1446:TR7
1441:TR6
1431:TR5
1421:GT6
1344:Elf
1272:850
1216:850
1175:MGC
1170:MGB
1149:P76
1092:XJS
1082:XJ6
1067:420
503:to
375:van
307:'s
168:OHV
142:van
1582::
1158:MG
826:MG
684:.
661:.
533:.
447:.
405:.
190:I4
181:I4
171:I4
854:†
848:†
812:†
766:e
759:t
752:v
723:.
709:.
695:.
460:/
424:.
112:/
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