MK2VR6
Posted a lot
Mk2 Golf GTi 90 Spec
Posts: 3,329
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Here's what could have been: I'm not an Allegro fan, but even I like that, especially considering it was sketched over 40 years ago Shame designs are always dumbed down in some shame or form after the initial design process. He toyed with the idea of twin headlights (Volksangyl anywhere?!) and even wanted the 1750 carbed version to be a 'GT' model:
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Yeah those sketches were nice, but fairly obviously not practicle. Harris worked on the styling of a lot of vehicles you may not immediatly think of as well. Nice bloke, had the pleasure of having him as a tutor for a few years too.
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Could be wrong but I think I read somewhere that it was this design that gave them the inspiration for the Princess. Which just shows how fugly things can get when you give way to function over form.
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'71 Arrocuda.... '71 Sunbeam Rapier Turbo (The Grim Rapier).... '63 Hymek D7076..... Audi GT5S
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barrett
Part of things
Plastic cars with metal doors BEST
Posts: 390
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You are! Actually, the Princess was another Harris Mann design that lost a lot of its flair in translation from drawing board to metal, which probably explains the confusion. To be fair though, the Princess is probably one of the best looking saloon cars of the '70s as it stands, I've never understood why people give them grief for the way they look.
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Somebody find me a Watling. £££ waiting! (Seriously, I want a Watling. Help me plzzzzz)
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Here I am! I like the twin lamps (obviously) makes it look like a dinky Scimitar when coupled with that nose end... I suspect there might be an Allegro in my future, I like them for some unfathomable reason.
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To be fair though, the Princess is probably one of the best looking saloon cars of the '70s as it stands, I've never understood why people give them grief for the way they look. Must be an acquired taste..... Don't get me wrong I'm not a BL basher and have owned several, mostly Rovers. My current daily hack is a Rover, but this was period styling at its worst for me, especially when they had come up with gems like the Condor prototype and turned them down for production.
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'71 Arrocuda.... '71 Sunbeam Rapier Turbo (The Grim Rapier).... '63 Hymek D7076..... Audi GT5S
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Porsche
West Midlands
Kev from B'ham.
Posts: 4,725
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Might be an idea for someone who is customising one of these to get some Scimitar GTE lamps and convert it to look like this? Now that would be nice and different.
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Harris Mann's Allegro conceptDarrenW
@darrenw
Club Retro Rides Member 74
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You are! Actually, the Princess was another Harris Mann design that lost a lot of its flair in translation from drawing board to metal, which probably explains the confusion. To be fair though, the Princess is probably one of the best looking saloon cars of the '70s as it stands, I've never understood why people give them grief for the way they look. Definitely. I have always said that if the Princess had come out with an Alfa badge on it people would fawn over it. It has much better proportions to my eyes than the Alfa GTV and everyone loves those.
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I could be wrong (dare I say it) but didn't some of them have twin headlights...... or maybe I'm just imagining it.
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'71 Arrocuda.... '71 Sunbeam Rapier Turbo (The Grim Rapier).... '63 Hymek D7076..... Audi GT5S
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Now the Condor DID have twin headlights. Which would you prefer? Something that looks like it rolled off of the cheese board or.... one of these? ;D
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Last Edit: Feb 2, 2012 21:56:31 GMT by arrocuda
'71 Arrocuda.... '71 Sunbeam Rapier Turbo (The Grim Rapier).... '63 Hymek D7076..... Audi GT5S
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MK2VR6
Posted a lot
Mk2 Golf GTi 90 Spec
Posts: 3,329
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Wow, never heard of the Condor, but that's lovely Mustn't forget Mann also had his finger in the design of this fairly well known car too: * Edit, looks like Mann didn't design the Condor himself...
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Last Edit: Feb 2, 2012 22:19:26 GMT by MK2VR6
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I like the Condor, but if I were a consumer in the 70s I think I'd've gone for the Princess instead because it looks a lot more futuristic and daring than the Condor, that would have appealed (and does now) to me then I think.
I quite like the Princess, apart from the rear lights, I wouldn't mind owning one eventually because by all accounts if you get a good one then they're a really nice place to be and by now, the vast majority of the bad ones have got to be extinct.
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I think I'm right in saying that the rather rakish front end had to go because they wanted to use the E series engine in it, which was quite tall; sales of the Maxi were nothing like the levels they had hoped for, so they had a fair bit of spare capacity for making the engines, hence the 1500 and 1750 E series went into the Allaggro and they had to change it to fit. They wanted a bigger engine bay than in the 1100/1300 so that they could sell it to fleets; the job times for the ADO16 were longer than the competition becaues the engine bay was snug.
From the B-pillar backwards the sketch isn't that far from what they built, though. Shame that's the worst bit of the picture!
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dapper
Part of things
Posts: 293
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I believe @carpervert (twitter) has put a 2.7 from a Rover (Sterling) into an Allegro and given it the treatment.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,538
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I believe @carpervert (twitter) has put a 2.7 from a Rover (Sterling) into an Allegro and given it the treatment. We know he started the process as he posted it on here at the time! That was a while ago though so has it actually reached completion?
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Personally I don't think the original design was really that far removed from the production model: They got twin headlights in the end too!:
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dbdb
Part of things
Posts: 821
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I quite like the Allegro saloon, but I reckon the Allegro estate is a genuinely beautiful car.
I like the Princess though... ;D
David
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It would have been a Princess for me too I think - one of the badge engineered ones with twin headlights and the hump in the leading edge of the bonnet. Would have made the Condor look very last decade.
Is it just me or does that Condor look quite GM-ish from the front, as well as a bit Ford-ish at the back? Like some sort of clever cut and shut? I'm not saying I don't like it. I think the nose is great.
I can't see much difference between the Allegro and the concept. The windscreen's a bit more raked, so I guess it must have been longer overall? And the bonnet's a bit higher to take the the gears in the sump. Why was it not practical though?
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The Condor was one of the options that came out of Roy Haynes' attempt to standardise floorpans and internal panels about the time of the birth of British Leyland (he was working for BMC at the time). The only car that survived the squabbles between BMC and Leyland was the Morris Marina, and that was because they were desperate for a new car quick! The Condor used a lot of 'Marina' floorpan and internal sections but was designed to take straight 6 or V8 engines from Rover/Jaguar; I think he got nine different cars out of seven arrangements of standard floor panels.... VW and Ford took the idea forward.... say no more.
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Rover Metro - The TARDIS - brake problems.....Stored Rover 75 - Barge MGZTT Cdti 160+ - Winter Hack and Audi botherer... MGF - The Golden Shot...Stored Project Minion........ Can you see the theme?
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Jowey
Part of things
Posts: 933
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Here I am! I like the twin lamps (obviously) makes it look like a dinky Scimitar when coupled with that nose end... I suspect there might be an Allegro in my future, I like them for some unfathomable reason. I thought it was a schimi' !
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2000 Mercedes E55 //AMG 1998 Alfa Reomeo GTV 24v 1997 Alfa Romeo Spider 16v 1996 Alfa Romeo Spider 16v 1996 Suzki Swift 1.0 GLS
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