View source for Morris Ital

{{Use British English|date=April 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox automobile
| image = PTO658X Austin Morris Ital 1.7 HLS.jpg
| name = Morris Ital
| manufacturer = [[British Leyland]] [[Austin Rover Group|(Austin Rover division)]]
| production = 1980–1984<br />175,276 produced<br />1998–1999 (China)
| aka = Morris Marina (Portugal)<ref>[https://www.aronline.co.uk/cars/morris/marina-ital/also-know-as-morris-marina/ Also known as : Morris Marina, www.aronline.co.uk] Retrieved 26 February 2018</ref> <br> Huandu CAC6430 (China)
| class = [[Mid-size car]]/[[Large family car]]
| assembly = United Kingdom: [[Cowley, Oxford]] ([[Plant Oxford|Cowley plant]]: 1980–1982)<br />United Kingdom: [[Longbridge]], [[Birmingham]] ([[Longbridge plant]]: 1982–1984)<br />Portugal: [[Setúbal]] (IMA)<br />China: [[Chengdu]] (Chengdu Auto Works)
| body_style = 4-door [[sedan (car)|saloon]]<br />5-door [[station wagon|estate]]<br />2-door [[pickup truck|pick-up]]<br />2-door van
| wheelbase = {{convert|2440|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| length = {{convert|4340|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} (saloon), {{convert|4380|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} (estate)
| width = {{convert|1640|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| height = {{convert|1420|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} (saloon), {{convert|1440|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} (estate)
| weight = {{convert|NNN|-|NNNN|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
| predecessor = [[Morris Marina]]
| successor = [[Austin Montego]]
| engine = {{ubl | 1275&nbsp;cc ''[[BMC A-Series engine|A-series]]'' [[Overhead valve|OHV]] [[Straight-four engine|I4]] | 1695&nbsp;cc ''[[BL O-Series engine|O-series]]'' I4 | 1994&nbsp;cc ''[[BL O-Series engine|O-series]]'' I4 | 1489&nbsp;cc ''[[BMC B-Series engine|B-series]]'' [[Diesel engine|diesel]] I4 (Portugal)}}
}}

The '''Morris Ital''' is a medium-sized car that was built by [[British Leyland]] (BL) from 1980 to 1984. A successor to the [[Morris Marina]], it was available in a variety of bodystyles.

==Design and launch==
[[File:1984 Morris Ital SLX 1.7 Rear.jpg|thumb|1984 Morris Ital SLX rear]]
The Ital was given the design code ADO73 F/L (as it was considered a facelift of the Series 2 ADO73 Marina launched in 1976) and was first launched on 1 July 1980. It took its name from [[Giorgetto Giugiaro]]'s [[Italdesign]] studio, which had been employed by BL to manage the re-engineering of the [[Morris Marina]], 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 [[Harris Mann]]. With a very limited budget to work with, Mann managed to give the car a more contemporary look through new door handles, prodigious use of plastic mouldings at the front, and very few sheet metal changes (all of the Ital's front body panels are interchangeable with those of the Marina). Saloons gained a restyled boot lid and much larger rear tail lights. The estates were almost unchanged at the rear compared to their Marina predecessors.

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. As such, 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, [[Michael Edwardes]], and only the Ital name was used.<ref>[http://aronline.co.uk/ado28storyf.htm ''Marina/Ital Development Story'', AROnline] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120035124/http://www.aronline.co.uk/ado28storyf.htm |date=20 November 2008 }}</ref>

[[File:Morris Ital Estate 1980 Adams Road.jpg|thumb|left|A Morris Ital Estate seen in Cambridge in 1981.]]
[[File:Ital van (3341730366).jpg|left|thumb|1983 Morris Ital Van ]]
The Ital had revised exterior styling, but retained the Marina's 1.3- and 1.7-litre [[petrol engine]]s and [[rear-wheel drive]] [[chassis]]. The [[dashboard]] 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 [[coupé]] variant was not produced in Ital form, but the four door [[sedan (car)|saloon]], the five-door [[station wagon|estate]], and the [[pickup truck|pickup]] and van versions, were carried over from the Marina range. 

From October 1980 an automatic version of the Ital was available with the 2.0-litre [[BL O-Series engine|O-Series]] power unit, as the range topping 2.0 HLS. With a very short production run, only about 1,000 models were sold and it remains the rarest Ital model. In November 1981, all HL and HLS models were fitted with upgraded interior trim.

In 1982 the Ital production line was moved from [[Plant Oxford|Cowley]] to [[Longbridge plant|Longbridge]]; this was to allow the former to be refitted for the upcoming start of production of the [[Austin Maestro]], and the Ital's ultimate replacement – the [[Austin Montego]].  Finally, in September of that year, 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 [[Leaf spring|parabolic rear springs]] were also fitted, together with additional soundproofing and improved trim. 

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. 

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 its replacement in the form of the Austin Montego, which did not happen until April 1984.

==Portuguese assembly==
[[File:Morris Ital Algarve.JPG|right|thumb|The Ital was also assembled in Portugal, where it retained the predecessor model's 'Marina' designation. The car in this picture has an [[Vehicle registration plates of Portugal#1937–1992|early 1980s Portuguese]] [[registration plate]].]]
Although most Itals were manufactured in the United Kingdom, there were also Portuguese assembled Itals which were all equipped with the ancient 1.5-litre [[BMC B-Series engine|B-series]] diesel engine, producing 37&nbsp;hp.<ref>[http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?akaado28f.htm ''Marina-Based Models'', AROnline] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003053523/http://www.aronline.co.uk/index.htm?akaado28f.htm |date=3 October 2011 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="salon81">{{Cite journal | ref = AJ81 | editor = Costa, André & Georges-Michel Fraichard |date=September 1981 | title = Tour de monde de l'insolite |trans-title=World tour of the weird | issue = 14 & 15 | department = Salon 1981: Toutes les Voitures du Monde | page = 215 | journal = L'Auto Journal | publisher = Homme N°1 | location = Paris | language = fr }}</ref> 

The British Leyland factory in [[Setúbal]] (IMA) then switched to producing the [[Mini_Moke#Portuguese_Mokes|Mini Moke]].

==Sales==
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 [[Opel Ascona]]/[[Vauxhall Cavalier]], as well as the [[Talbot Alpine]], which all used [[front wheel drive]]. It managed sales of 175,276 cars of all derivatives.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-figures/unsung-heros/morris-ital-1980-1984/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20221212120945/https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-figures/unsung-heros/morris-ital-1980-1984/ | archive-date = 12 December 2022 | title = Unsung Heroes: Morris Ital 1980–1984 | first = Keith | last = Adams | date = 21 November 2019 | work = AROnline }}</ref>

After the introduction of the Opel Ascona C / Vauxhall Cavalier Mark II in August 1981, the Ital and Ford's [[Ford Cortina|Cortina]] (and later [[Ford Sierra|Sierra]]) were the only European mass volume cars in the sector to retain rear wheel drive.

==Demise of Morris==
The Ital was the last production car to wear the [[Morris Motors|Morris]] badge, although there was a Morris badged van version of the [[Rover Metro|Metro]] produced until 1984.  

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 [[marque]] 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. 

The Ital's successor was the [[Austin Montego]], 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 [[Austin Maestro]].

==Later production in China==
After production in the United Kingdom ceased, the Ital's production tooling was sold to the [[Chengdu]] Auto Works, a company belonging to the [[First Auto Works]] Group in [[Sichuan]], China. In 1998, the Ital estate (using a locally made chassis) reappeared there, under the name '''Huandu CAC6430''' (Chinese: 环都). Van and pick up variants were also produced. Chengdu Auto Works is thought to have closed down in May 1999.<ref>{{cite web |last=Van Ingen Schenau |first=Erik |url=http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/around-the-world/china/morris-marinaital-huandu-cac6430/ |work=AROnline |accessdate=9 April 2013 |date=26 July 2011 |title=Morris Marina/Ital: Huandu CAC6430 }}</ref>

==Reputation==
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 [[rust]] problems to its predecessor, the Morris Marina. Despite being designated as a successor to the Marina, surviving Itals are rarer than Marinas today on UK roads due to lower overall production numbers.  As the value of 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 as the Ital was the only rear wheel drive car to be fitted with them.{{cn|date=April 2025}} As of 2023, there are only 56 Morris Itals still taxed and on the roads in the UK,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.carlogbook.co.uk/morris/ital/|title = How Many MORRIS ITAL Are Left?}}</ref> with another 133 Itals declared SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notice).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/all-vehicles-veh01#statutory-off-road-notification-vehicles-sorn|title = All vehicles (VEH01)}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* [http://www.morrismarina.org.uk Morris Marina Owners Club and Morris Ital Register]

{{British Motor Holdings and British Leyland cars, 1966-1986}}

[[Category:British Leyland vehicles]]
[[Category:Cars introduced in 1980]]
[[Category:Cars discontinued in 1999]] 
[[Category:Italdesign vehicles]]
[[Category:Morris vehicles|Ital]]
[[Category:Rear-wheel-drive vehicles]]
[[Category:Sedans]]
[[Category:Station wagons]]
[[Category:Cars of Portugal]]
[[Category:Mid-size cars]]