Despite its practical design and remarkable space efficiency (it is shorter, narrower and lower than the sixth generation Ford Fiesta),[7][8] the Maxi never came close to reaching its projected sales targets.

Originally, under BMC's plan for its new model range, which it had been developing since 1965, the Maxi was to have been called the "Austin 1500" on its spring 1969 launch, and a saloon version the "Morris 1500" was to follow in the autumn.

All Maxis were produced at the Cowley plant in Oxford, although the E-Series engines were made at a new factory at Cofton Hackett neighbouring Longbridge.

[citation needed] Underneath the Maxi's practical and spacious bodyshell lay an all-new front-wheel drive chassis, which was interlinked with an innovative five-speed manual transmission; the fifth gear was another rarity on family cars in 1969 and one which many manufacturers did not adopt until more than a decade later.

All models were prone to problems brought on by the "cogs in the sump" layout, whereby the gearbox and engine shared a common oil supply.

This design was by then five years old, at a time when curvaceous American-inspired "coke bottle" styling (typified by contemporaries such as the Ford Cortina Mk III and Hillman Avenger) was very much in vogue, contrasting sharply with the Maxi's obviously mid-1960s looks.

In Australia, owing to recently increased local content assembly tariffs which would have resulted in the Maxi being uneconomic to build, Leyland Motor Corporation of Australia developed in the UK the Morris Nomad, a hybrid utilizing the Maxi's E-series engine/transmission and rear tailgate, fitted to the Morris 1100 body which was already being assembled in that country.

[12] The Maxi featured a spacious interior, comfortable passenger accommodation, competitive prices and reasonable running costs.

Despite its practical design and remarkable space efficiency (it is shorter, narrower and lower than the sixth generation Ford Fiesta),[14][15] the Maxi never came close to reaching its projected sales targets.

This stance prevented the Austin Allegro and Princess models gaining hatchbacks despite those designs being capable of receiving them.

On 1 July 1969, John Lennon crashed a white Maxi on the single track A838 road near Loch Eriboll in the Highlands of Scotland.

From there, he rang Apple Records and arranged for a driver to bring the "staff" car; a recently acquired Snowberry White Austin Maxi registered RLA 888G.

It featured a full-length white webasto roof and also had a silver apple mounted on the radio speaker top of the front fascia.

The following morning, Ono and Lennon transferred all of their luggage over to the Maxi and his driver took the Mini back to Tittenhurst, and the four set off north again to Northern Scotland; stopping briefly in Windermere and Edinburgh.

In October 2016, James Walshe, the deputy editor of Practical Classics car magazine retraced Lennon's journey in his 1969 Maxi.

The "Aquila" was constructed by Woodhall Nicolson of Halifax with help from Lucas, Smiths (Motor Accessory Division & Radiomobile) and Triplex.