CarBrandLogos archive · Morris · 1980

MorrisMorris Ital

A reskinned Marina named after the Italian studio that engineered the facelift.

The story

A defining chapter in Morris history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Morris Ital, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The Ital was not an Italian car, and it was barely a new one. With no budget for a proper Marina replacement, British Leyland paid Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign to handle the production engineering of a restyle, took the name from the studio, and launched the result in July 1980 with squared-off front and rear ends over a substantially unchanged structure.

Morris Ital Algarve · Charles01 · Public domain

Design and engineering

Underneath, the live rear axle and leaf springs stayed. The A-series and O-series engines carried over, the interior was tidied and rust protection improved a little. Reviewers were not fooled, and by 1980 the family car class had moved to front-wheel drive with the Volkswagen Golf and the Mk3 Ford Escort, leaving the Ital several years behind on the day it appeared.

Morris Ital Estate 1980 Adams Road · Charles01 · CC BY-SA 3.0

In production

It sold 175,276 examples in four years, mostly to fleets and to buyers who wanted the estate. The saloon ended in 1984 and the estate and van shortly after, taking the Morris name, one of the oldest in the British industry, with them. A licensed version was assembled in Chengdu, China, in the late 1990s, which is a stranger ending than the car had earned.

Ital van · allen watkin from London, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1998–1999

Units built

175,276

Engine

1275&nbsp

Body

4-door saloon

Technical specification

The Morris Ital, in detail.

Production: July 1980 – August 1984; 175,276 produced; 1998–1999 (China)
Class: Mid-size car/Large family car
Body style: 4-door saloon; 5-door estate; 2-door pick-up; 2-door van
Engine: 1275 cc BMC A-Series engine; A-series Overhead valve; OHV Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1695 cc BL O-Series engine; O-series I4 ; 1994 cc BL O-Series engine; O-series I4 ; 1489 cc BMC B-Series engine; B-
Transmission: 4-speed manual; 3-speed automatic
Assembly: United Kingdom: Cowley, Oxford (Cowley plant: 1980–1982); United Kingdom: Longbridge, Birmingham (Longbridge plant: 1982–1984); Portugal: Setúbal (IMA); China: Chengdu (Chengdu Auto Works)
Manufacturer: British Leyland