To celebrate the British International Motor Show this year we picked our 100 best British cars. Check out our selection to help you choose your favourite home-grown motor.
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3 Austin Maxi (page 3 of 25)
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Intended to slot in the BMC range between the 1100/1300-series and the 1800s, and to take on the Ford Cortina, the 1969 Maxi was ahead of its time. A five-door hatchback with the all-new 1.5-litre E-series engine and class-leading interior space, luggage capacity and practicality, it should have been a huge success. However, BMC cost-cutting, design-team indecision, a severe shortage of power to propel its heavy body and an appallingly awkward new five-speed gearbox put paid to that. It lasted 12 years in production, helped by a more powerful 1750cc engine and a new gearbox, but it was ultimately a great idea ruined by poor planning and corporate incompetence.
