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The Real McCoy On The Leyland P76 – Giving It The Boot

The Leyland P76 has been considered a joke by the motoring fraternity and public for over three decades now and I am wondering if it is a reputation that the Leyland giant really deserves? During the 70’s big collars and even bigger flares we


The Leyland P76 has been considered a joke by the motoring fraternity and public for over three decades now and I am wondering if it is a reputation that the Leyland giant really deserves?

During the 70’s big collars and even bigger flares were in and I never understood why the equally oversized P76 failed. Maybe the interior designers should have trimmed the seats in paisley?

Thirty years on and big collars and flares are once again cool, but what of the Leyland P76? How does the P76’s retro ‘barge’ styling and 70’s acid tripping colour schemes shape up in a new century. Can a thirty something P76 actually be cool?

The Leyland dealer network didn’t help the situation either. On the rump of the Leyland was a difficult to read P76 badge that looked like PIG from a distance and the Leyland salesman soon had a pet name for the new car. It didn’t take long for the lack of stock and the dealer’s nickname to result in whispers that brought into question the reliability of the P76.

Rather than buy a PIG, Australian buyers stuck to their Holdens, Fords and Valiants and the P76 was eventually axed. Even Australia’s Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam called it a dud and Bill Hayden joined in by calling it a lemon. All up around 16,000 P76’s were made in various guises, however the actual official number of P76’s built remains a mystery.

However, the news was not all bad for the P76, which enjoyed a brief and successful motorsport career. Evan Green drove one to success in the 1974 World Cup Rally and made the fastest time around the leg in Sicily. This included part of the former Targa Florio course and Leyland celebrated by introducing a limited run of 300 P76 Targa Florio’s to celebrate.

The P76 Targa Florio had a large sticker down the side to commemorate the win but it wasn’t just livery that made this car different. The Targa Florio came standard with options that included power steering, five-spoke alloy wheels, radial tyres, a four-speed auto transmission and even a limited-slip differential. This was enough to make it quite special and in my opinion rather cool. Much like my 70’s velour suit, I would be happy to be seen out and about in a Leyland P76 V8 Targa Florio in 2008. It has too rich a history to continue being considered a joke.

Until next time ~ Happy and safe motoring

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