Landcrab that rocked Wolseley fans

Feb 8 2010 Ian Johnson

Landcrab that rocked Wolseley fans

WOLSELEY, that Great British name in solidity and performance was one of the companies taken over by BMC and in the 1960s was in the showrooms with various badge-engineered models.

But towards the dawn of the 1970s the Wolseley touch was applied to the Morris 1800/2200 design and the move did the famous marque no favours whatsoever.

The Wolseley 18/85 and the Six succeeded the wonderful Austin Westminster-based 6/110 model produced through the 1960s and the result was a culture shock.

The 1800 platform was known colloquially as the Landcrab because of its transverse-engine, front- wheel-drive, wheels at four corners philosophy inspired by the Mini. But that was where the similarity ended.

It became known as a flabby design and the first Wolseley variant was the four-cylinder 18/85 produced from 1967 to 1972. Then came the six-cylinder Six model produced from 1972 to 1975.

Bearing in mind that the 6/110 was a luxury limo of the old school and won many friends within the gentry and the police, the Landcrab equivalent could not hold a candle to it in terms of comfort and quality.

British Leyland, then owners of the range had pounds in their eyes over the 1800 and wanted to exploit the design for all it was worth. This is understandable because in 1965 it was voted European Car of the Year and achieved some success at rallying.

But suited to the Wolseley badge it really was not. The change from front engine and rear-wheel- drive to transverse front-drive was too much for some, even though it was all the rage with smaller vehicles in the company's portfolio. But it was well kitted out inside and a total of 35,597 sales said that it did have some friends.

The Landcrab Wolseley was just so unconventional in appearance and technology . Many of its features were ahead of their time time, including Hydrolastic suspension plus an example of inertia-controlled brake proportioning. The bodyshell was exceptionally stiff, featuring greater structural rigidity than many modern cars.

But worse was to come. In early 1975 the big Wolseley was replaced by a version based on the wedge-shaped Princess style. This car was also called the Six - a poor effort which just died quietly with just 3,800 sales.

In realistic terms, the old 6/110 was expensive to build and could not have carried on much longer. But its lacklustre replacements were symptomatic of the impending demise of the British car industry.