[3] The ADO16 was marketed globally under various make and model names; the most prolific variant was the Austin 1100 and Morris 1100.

However, some were also built in Spain by Authi, in Italy by Innocenti, in Yugoslavia (Slovenia) by IMV,[10] and at the company's own plant in Belgium.

Following his success with the Mini, Issigonis set out to design a larger and more sophisticated car which incorporated more advanced features and innovations.

[citation needed] In common with the Mini, the ADO16 was designed around the BMC A-Series engine, mounted transversely and driving the front wheels.

As well as single piston swinging caliper disc brakes at the front, which were not common on mass-produced cars in the early 1960s, the ADO16 featured a Hydrolastic interconnected fluid suspension system designed by Alex Moulton.

The mechanically interconnected Citroen 2CV suspension was assessed in the mid-1950s by Alec Issigonis and Alex Moulton (according to an interview by Moulton with Car magazine in the late 1990s),[citation needed] and was an inspiration in the design of the Hydrolastic suspension system for the Mini and Austin 1100, to try to keep the benefits of the 2CV system (ride comfort, body levelling, keeping the tyres in contact with the road), but with added roll stiffness that the 2CV lacked.

Marketing material highlighted the spacious cabin when compared to competitor models which in the UK by 1964 included the more conservatively configured Ford Anglia, Vauxhall Viva and BMC's own still popular Morris Minor.

[16] In order to avoid the serious levels of power loss then typical in small-engined cars with automatic transmission the manufacturers incorporated a new carburettor and a higher compression ratio in the new 1965 automatic transmission cars: indeed a press report of the time found very little power loss in the automatic 1100, though the same report expressed the suspicion that this might in part reflect the unusually high level of power loss resulting from the way in which the installation of the transversely-mounted "normal" manual gearbox had been engineered.

[17] At the end of May 1967, BMC announced the fitting of a larger 1275 cc engine to the MG, Riley Kestrel, Vanden Plas and Wolseley variants.

[18] The new car combined the 1275 cc engine block already familiar to drivers of newer Mini Cooper S and Austin-Healey Sprite models with the 1100 transmission, its gear ratios remaining unchanged for the larger engine, but the final-drive being significantly more highly geared.

From 1970, it had gained another fresh rival in the form of the HC Viva, and also from a new Rootes Group model, the Hillman Avenger.

On the outside, a slightly wider front grille, extending a little beneath the headlights, and with revised detailing, differentiated Austin / Morris Mark IIs from their Mark I predecessors, along with a slightly smoother tail light fitting which also found its way onto the FX4 London taxi of the time.

The Riley 1300 Mark II was discontinued in July 1969,[21] and signalled the demise of the Riley marque, proving to be a shade of things to come as the 1970s would see British Leyland discontinue the Wolseley marque and sell most of its model ranges under a solitary brand.

[22] Ride height on the Austin / Morris 1300 GT was fractionally lowered through the reduction of the Hydrolastic fluid pressure from 225 to 205 psi.

[22] During 1970, despite being fundamentally little changed since the introduction of the Morris 1100 in 1962, the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 retained its position as Britain's top-selling car, with 132,965 vehicles registered as against 123,025 for the Ford Cortina, in that year entering its third incarnation.

[23] By the time the two millionth ADO16 was produced, at the end of June 1971,[16] the Morris-badged version of the car had been withdrawn in order to create space in the range and in the showrooms for the Morris Marina.

At the launch of the Morris 1100 in 1962 the manufacturer stated that they intended for the ADO16 models to remain in production for at least ten years,[24] which despite BMC's vicissitudes through the 1960s turned out to be reasonably prescient.

Foreign cars were also becoming increasingly popular on the UK market during the early 1970s, with perhaps the biggest imported rival to the ADO16 being the Datsun Sunny from Japan.

[77] The 1800 version was however used by chief engineer Harry Webster and was known within the Austin Morris division as the Yellow Peril.