Innocenti is perhaps more commonly known
for its production of the Mini. Of which more were
manufactured than the 1100 version.
The IM3/IM3S was produced from 1963-1970, while the
J4/J4S/J5 was produced from 1964 to 1973. (NB: some sources
refer to the J4S and J5 models as "I4S" and "I5", but they
are the same thing.) The 1275 engine never made it into any
of the ADO16 Innocenti's.
Following Innocenti's death in 1966, his son Luigi became
president of the company, but it lost direction and was
heading for crisis when BL bought it for £3m in 1972;
however, the failure of the Regent led to further losses and
thus to Leyland's withdrawal in 1975.
The first 1100-based Innocenti, the IM3 (ie: the third
Innocenti-Morris venture), was launched in the spring of
1963, with modifications to the headlamps, fascia and
interior. It had the twin-carb MG engine, and interestingly,
a more upright steering wheel, made possible by the
insertion of a universal joint in the steering column. Thus,
the column disappears under the dashboard, instead of diving
straight down to the pedals as in our cars.
Other versions followed: the IM3S was essentially the same
as the IM3; the Austin J4 was an Austin 1100, built under
licence with the standard single-carb engine and without the
significant restyling applied to the IM3 (although it did
have a different grille); the I4S was a downmarket version
of the IM3S. The last of the line was the Austin J5 (ie:
Austin 1100 Mk2), which in 1974 gave way to the
locally-built version of the Allegro, called the Innocenti
Regent. Somewhere along the way, in 1972, Leyland took
control of Innocenti's car-making division. |
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