R.A-S.H: The Wolseley Six

Wols1

There has been some great English architecture over the years. From the majestic domes of Christopher Wren’s St Pauls Cathedral, through the Art Deco imaginings of Oliver Hill, to the shining, glassy edifices of Norman Foster and his associates. All of these masterpieces have been united by an innate sense of balance and proportion.

All of which was a point totally lost on the BMC design team when developing the ADO17 range, including the hunk of magnificence you see before you. And a point made all the more extraordinary when you find that Pininfarina were involved. Maybe they made the coffee.


Wols1b

“Wolseley have been producing motor cars since 1895”

Wolseley may well have produced some thoroughly decent machinery over the years, but the name just isn’t, wasn’t, sexy. It obviously meant enough to the bowler-hatted folk of Middle England, though, as British Leyland thought the name worthy of continuation until the mid-70s.

“…background of unstinting craftsmanship”

This would be the same craftsmanship that BL were famed for throughout the seventies. In between strikes and walkouts, among the thousands of vehicles produced that decade there must have been literally dozens that were built properly.

Wols2

“….supremely elegant, surprisingly fast car”

The Bell Jetranger in this view seems incongrous, but the two machines were indeed from the same era. One was thoroughly forward-thinking, though, the other was mired in tradition. That said, for the traditionally conservative, “buy British” average Joe Car Buyer, radicalism was the last thing on anybody’s mind. The UK choice was basically Rootes, Ford or BMC/BLMH/BL.

“We can often tell a lot about a company from the cars they keep. The Wolseley Six says what you want to say about your company”

It’s quite difficult for me to get my head around this excruciating wordplay, as the significance of Wolseley is difficult to quantify forty years on. What did the brand mean, really? Where did Wolseley rank in the car-park heirarchy? I’d guess somewhere close to Rover, way below Jaguar. It must have been baffling, considering that you could also buy this, wearing a different front grille, as an Austin. or a Morris. Obviously the this was the poshest of the three; I mean the badge lit up, you know.

Wols3

“…splendidly roomy rear seat”

This was headline-stealing stuff, clearly. This was definitely a car sold from the inside out, as a car for the passenger. On this basis, it didn’t really matter what the car looked like from the outside, then.

“The new Wolseley Six. It would be hard to find a car that gives you a softer life”

Yeah, cruising along gently was always the plan, all this despite the fact that it:

“…treats you to an exhilarating display of controlled power.”

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Under that portly bodywork there sat the only straight-six engine to ever find itself transversely mounted between the front wheels of a car. I think. The same engine landed in the replacement ADO71, too.

“Those six cylinders get from 0-60 in 12.25 seconds, smoothly and quietly”.

It was that last twentieth of a second that made it feel fast, of course. 12.3 would have felt like an eternity by comparison. The smoothness and quietness was never in doubt, though. And, of course, there was that fantastic Hydrolastic suspension, interconnected front and rear, that contributed the great ride quality. They never tired of harping on about this  “world-beating” innovation that BL would later retain in Harris Manns’ legendary Princess that we explored here.

“The new Wolseley Six. One of the few cars that can mix business with pleasure. In style”

The British Leyland press machine would rumble on, spraying out half-truths and outright lies for a good while yet.

(Disclaimer: All images are of original Wolseley press material, photographed by me on a windy day. All copyright probably belongs to the Germans, at a guess, who are currently 0% likely to reintroduce the Wolseley name)

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33 responses to “R.A-S.H: The Wolseley Six”

  1. ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
    ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq

    So if the Italians supplied the espresso, BMC the napkin?

    1. ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
      ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq

      <img src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ7QFKKPBYwJqURld8ZflYBJYevMq2UQD_F8EdcsnX63N3Ef7Gi"&gt; Sigh, my handle (well more my kids' now) on xbox live is Bad Coffee (in hexidecimal) too.

  2. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    "Under that portly bodywork there sat the only straight-six engine to ever find itself transversely mounted between the front wheels of a car. I think. The same engine landed in the replacement ADO71, too."
    The Suzuki Verona (another esteemed car – get it?) also has a transverse inline six.

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      Suzuki Verona a.k.a. Daewoo Magnus/Daewoo Evanda/Chevrolet Evanda/Chevrolet Epica/Formosa Magnus.

      1. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

        I knew it wouldn't take long. The "I think" was my get-out clause.

        1. Peter Tanshanomi Avatar
          Peter Tanshanomi

          You know how it's played! I have to expect that there's a job at the New York Times waiting for you, Bubbo.

        2. dukeisduke Avatar
          dukeisduke

          It always works for me.

    2. JayP2112 Avatar
      JayP2112

      S80?

      1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
        FuzzyPlushroom

        I didn't see your comment when I posted mine. Sorry! We're right, though.

    3. Devin Avatar
      Devin

      In fair Verona, where we set our six.

    4. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      I wouldn't call either of those 'cars'. 'Appliances', sure. Now, the Volvo S80…

  3. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    When I read the phrase, "Wolseley elegance", I had to brace myself to keep from falling over laughing. There's steel for the tinworm, and wood for the termites.

  4. skitter Avatar
    skitter

    I thought it was horrible looking for a 60's car.
    Eastern-Bloc shape and details.
    Then I learned it was a 70's car, and it doesn't seem quite so bad.

  5. TurboBrick Avatar
    TurboBrick

    Ahem! Every six cylinder FWD Volvo out there also has a transverse straight six. Easy to forget about that one. Chevrolet Epica and it's multiple iterations were already mentioned.

    1. JayP2112 Avatar
      JayP2112

      Ah- Just saw your post. I was sure the S80 was an inline 6-FWD.

      1. TurboBrick Avatar
        TurboBrick

        Not just S80, but also XC60, XC70, XC90, V70, and the new S60. Everything with a six cylinder option.

        1. Slow_Joe_Crow Avatar
          Slow_Joe_Crow

          Also found in the second generation Landrover Freelander/LR2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_SI6_engine

    2. mallthus Avatar
      mallthus

      I take your transverse I6 and raise you a transverse I8.
      http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-ford/FMC-eng
      <img src="http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-ford/FMC-engines/t-drive/t_drive-2.jpg&quot; width=600>

      1. ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
        ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq

        <img src="http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec-ford/FMC-engines/t-drive/t_drive-1.jpg"&gt; Holy carp, FTF might not even know about this! Get out the bat signal!

        1. Vairship Avatar
          Vairship

          Saying his name three times: "Ford Tempo Fanatic, Ford Tempo Fanatic, Ford Tempo Fanatic…"

  6. Devin Avatar
    Devin

    I like the old couches and wood ambiance, I half expect it to feature some whiskey as standard equipment in that glovebox.

    1. FuzzyPlushroom Avatar
      FuzzyPlushroom

      Whiskey?! Whisky!

  7. mdharrell Avatar

    "…that fantastic Hydrolastic suspension, interconnected front and rear, that contributed the great ride quality."
    It makes far more sense than the Hydragas suspension in my MG Metro, independent at the front corners and connected side-to-side at the rear. Madness.

  8. Kris_01 Avatar
    Kris_01

    That wouldn't be a badge-engineered Landcrab, would it?
    I like.

  9. david42 Avatar
    david42

    Land Rover LR2, too. Which I think had the Volvo 3.2.

  10. Batshitbox Avatar

    "…The Wolseley Six says what you want to say about your company"
    From that I assume they were trying to market this as a company car, businessman's express (!) type thing. Something the company buys so their representatives look good. God that sounds unlikely. You would look better than anyone who showed up in a Morris Minor, but you would look like you were trying to look better. Which would make you look worse.

    1. ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq Avatar
      ˏ♂ˊ mzs zsm msz esq

      UK had a more regimented class structure then, I think it means company as in the sense 'the company you keep' or just your circle now-a-days.

  11. Rover 1 Avatar
    Rover 1

    And of course, the Australian cousins, the Kimberley and the Tasman X6 variants http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/bmc-cars/180… ,a version of which nearly made it back to the UK as a Vanden Plas http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/vanden-plas/
    And of course those doors, also used on the Maxi and the Austin 3 Litre. http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/bmc-cars/180

  12. scroggzilla Avatar
    scroggzilla

    If I remember correctly, this was the last Wolseley with a 'ghost light' emblem on the grille.

    1. Rust-MyEnemy Avatar

      Yup, most definitely my favourite feature of the car.

  13. Slow_Joe_Crow Avatar
    Slow_Joe_Crow

    So is tinsel on a landcrab the same as lipstick on a pig?

  14. mallthus Avatar
    mallthus

    Oddly enough, this is the landcrab I'd want to own. Yes, it's ugly as they come and imbued with that special kind of malaise that BMC/BL brought to every product they touched, but it's also awesome…in the same way the Allegro is awesome.
    Hydralastic suspension? Check.
    Interior volume? Check.
    Rarity? Check.
    Seems like it's got it all, plus more power than the 18/85.

  15. Vairship Avatar
    Vairship

    "“….supremely elegant, surprisingly fast car”
    The Bell Jetranger in this view seems incongrous, but the two machines were indeed from the same era. One was thoroughly forward-thinking, though, the other was mired in tradition."
    They have something else in common: "After the failed military contract bid, Bell attempted to market the Model 206, but it did not fare well at all commercially. Bell's market research showed that customers found the body design mostly unpalatable. Bell would eventually redesign the body of the airframe to a more sleek and aesthetic design and reintroduced it as the Bell 206A JetRanger.[9]" (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_YOH-4 )
    The difference is that Bell redesigned the helicopter and it became a sales success…