BMC FARINA
Is there a car which said more for 1960s British social culture than the BMC ADO9/ADO38 ‘Farina’ range of 1.5-litre saloon cars? It spoke of a distinct hierarchy – with perks related to income, and yet the nagging sensation that under the skin all were the same. It’s the British condition in an automotive nutshell, and the traits which endeared them to so many among the British working and middle classes when new make them compelling classic purchases today.
The range – and its myriad choices – sprang from the BMC merger of 1952. This merger had brought several marques under one roof, and with each offering a model in the 1.5-litre class by the mid 1950s (Austin A55 Cambridge, Morris Oxford, Wolseley 4/50, Riley RME, and MG Magnette Z-type), it was felt that replacing them all with a sole model line would make financial sense. Much like automotive conglomerates platform share today, there would be a variant for everyone. But unlike the Skoda Octavia, VW Golf and Audi A3, each would share broadly the same shell for cost purposes as well as the underpinnings. Crucially, this strategy meant that no dealers would be abandoned, and that those with strong brand loyalties would be appeased by the appearance of a Farina in their chosen flavour. To prevent any dissent if one design office was chosen over another in house, BMC invited Pininfarina to create the
