Morris Ital (1980 - 1984)

Introduction

The all-new name probably raised expectations, but it's an inescapable fact that the Ital was a sad end to Morris car production (a few Morris Metro 310 vans followed. The Ital was a reasonably effective facelift of the Marina to give it Euro-generic front- and rear-styling, and it also saw the introduction of the A-Plus engine, and 12,000-mile service intervals.

Conceived for company fleets who were still frightened off by front-wheel drive cars, the Ital sold reasonably well before being replaced by the Austin Montego in 1984. A-plus engines were very economical and the 2.0-litre O-series-powered auto could be exciting. For all the wrong reasons.

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