The launch of the Austin Victoria, a pleasant three-volume sedan with a classic line, was a desperate attempt to save the company Authi (Automóviles Hispano Ingleses) which, since 1966, had been manufacturing some British Motors Corporation (BMC) models in Pamplona, including the popular Mini. The car was manufactured in two versions: normal and De Luxe, until 1975, the year in which Authi’s activity in our country ceased.
To get to the Austin Victoria, launched in 1972, we must first review the creation of the Automobiles Hispano Ingleses (AUTHI) company, a company that was born as a result of a shareholder change in… FASA Renault. When the French brand acquired the shares that Banco de Santander had in FASA, its Spanish subsidiary, it built the Palencia factory to manufacture components, which led to a reduction in orders from Nueva Montaña Quijano, a Santander steel company that had been, until then, your main supplier.
From component manufacturer to car manufacturer
Thus, Nueva Montaña Quijano began looking for new clients, but finally opted for a more complicated path: becoming a manufacturer not only of parts but of complete vehicles, for which it signed an agreement with BMC. On November 12, 1966, Authi was established with a capital of 200 million pesetas and the Francoist government turned a blind eye, which ignored the law that forced automobile companies established in Spain to produce 125,000 units per year.
With hardly any margin to introduce a new manufacturer in a saturated market where Seat, Renault, Citroën and Barreiros (Simca and Dodge) already operated and with no possibility of exporting, the 125,000 units required magically became 75,000 and when it became clear that Authi would not even reach that figure, the term “manufacture” was changed to “have the capacity to manufacture” and the matter was concluded.
The deal with BMC was quick. The British consortium, which had already set up similar operations for the sale of licenses in Australia, South Africa, Argentina or Italy, directed the construction of the Landaben plant, near Pamplona, on land of 446,000 square meters and on September 30, In 1966 the first Morris 1100 came off the assembly line, a 4-door saloon with front-wheel drive, the height of modernity compared to the national production of that time in its segment: Renault 8, Seat 124 and Simca 1000.
The Morris was the basis for subsequent Authi models. First came the MG 1100, a sports version of the previous one with a different front end and later with the little-known Morris Traveler with a 3-door family body.
Authi reached the objectives set without excessive problems: it manufactured 40 cars/hour with 90% of local components. Everything seemed to be going from strength to strength and the masterstroke was missing: the Mini. However, quality problems affected sales, the Mini improved the situation, but not as much as expected, and the change of brand from Morris to Austin did not have the desired effect, so economic problems forced BMC to to acquire 51% of the shares and to announce the beginning of the export activity.
And in these, in 1972, the Austin Victoria appeared, an elegant sedan whose bodywork was signed by the Italian designer Giovanni Michelotti and which never had an equivalent in the English range (although it was marketed in South Africa under the name of Austin Apache) . The Victoria was a “low cost” update of the extinct Austin 1300, from which it inherited the platform and mechanics, but the change suited it perfectly.
The Victoria kept the central cell (doors, windshield and passenger compartment) of the Austin 1300 but had a different front and rear. It had a very flat bonnet, a black grille and two versions of headlights: the normal Victoria had oval headlights in a chrome frame and the more equipped De Luxe version mounted twin round headlights. The differentiation of the basic versions from the most luxurious ones due to the design of the headlights was not new since it was also used by Renault for the Renault 12 (the S version had peculiar double headlights) and Seat in the 124 and 1430 with simple round headlights. for the first and double squares for the second, something that would be preserved in 131.
The three-volume body of the Victoria increased its length to 4.03 meters and the trunk offered a generous 470 liters. The car measured 1.54 meters wide by 1.34 meters high and weighed 900 kilos.
The Victoria had front-wheel drive with the original transverse engine layout “invented” by the Mini and the engine was a 4-cylinder, 1,275 cc block with two carburettors that, coupled to a four-speed gearbox, yielded, in the De Luxe version, a power of 68 hp. The Victoria had a top speed of 147 km/h. although at the cost of a high consumption of 10-11 liters on the highway and 13 liters / 100 km in the city. The normal Victoria, with a single carburettor, offered 62 hp and had lower performance, but lower consumption.
A suspension without springs
The most original element of the car was the suspension, the famous Hydrolastic with an independent scheme on both axes, but without springs. The double-wishbone front axle and swing-arm rear axle were mounted on rubber bumpers that absorbed wheel movement. This suspension, a very well tuned steering and the absence of understeer thanks to the rear position of the engine, allowed the Victoria to become one of the Spanish cars of the time with the best dynamic behavior on the road.
The two versions of the Victoria shared a spacious and comfortable cabin, but the basic model had escai upholstery while the Luxe version had very soft velvet seats. The De Luxe also exhibited more complete instrumentation, with a rev counter, an elegant wooden steering wheel and radial tires, a novelty at the time. Despite being 15% more expensive, the De Luxe sold better than its sibling.
The End of the Authi
By the middle of the decade, British Leyland (new name for the BMC consortium) was experiencing significant financial problems in Great Britain and attempted to sell Authi to General Motors. The American offer was perfect. He satisfied the seller, saved Authi, and avoided a social crisis in Navarre in a troubled time (with the dictator almost on his deathbed). General Motors offered to buy the company, invest in the factory and produce the BMCs while preparing the launch of Opel, but Ford, which had just settled in Valencia, shouted to the heavens when they saw how its main rival, General Motors, was getting ready. to enter Spain under much more advantageous conditions.
When the agreement was frustrated, the Landaben factory was the subject, on October 9, 1974, of an accidental fire that, however, unleashed the most varied speculations and that destroyed part of the facilities. At the end of 1975, Authi was a bankrupt company, with a factory to be rebuilt, 500 million pesetas lost in the fire, a shareholder in ruins and an obsolete range of models. Given this scenario, it presented the suspension of payments and the INI (National Institute of Industry) rescued the plant and awarded it to Seat, which modified its product strategy and decided to give an extension to 124 with the launch of the “Pamplona” redesign as well called when it was manufactured in Landaben after giving up its assembly line in Barcelona to the new Seat 131.
Today Landaben is owned by the Volkswagen Group and manufactures the Volkswagen Polo, T-Cross and Taigo for all of Europe. Austin and Morris have disappeared, like other brands that were part of BMC at the time such as Triumph, Rover, Riley or Wolseley (only MG, owned by the Chinese Geely consortium, Jaguar and Land Rover, owned by India since they are in the hands of Tata and Mini, rescued by the BMW Group when it bought the wreck of British Leyland) and buying an Austin Victoria in Spain is quite an adventure due to the few units that remain in good condition.
In any case, in this link you will find all the classics for sale at coche.net.
