Quirk Database1970sUnited KingdomNormal-looking, weird inside

Austin Allegro

The Austin Allegro is a small family car made by Austin (British Leyland) in the United Kingdom from 1973 to 1982. Its weirdest quirk: Early cars had the 'Quartic' steering wheel: a rectangle with rounded sides, meant to free up leg room. Nobody liked it, and it was gone by 1974.

British Leyland's 1970s family car, with Hydragas suspension and a reputation it has never shaken off. 642,350 were built.

Weird features:Steering & ignition

1973–1982 · Small family car · 0 sold prices logged

Photo of a Austin Allegro
Photo: Austin Allegro dashboard with the Quartic steering wheel. By John Robert Shepherd, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Cropped by Wrong Turn Garage; the homepage thumbnail is a stylized duotone version.

Quick facts

  • Maker: Austin (British Leyland)
  • Years: 1973–1982
  • Country of origin: United Kingdom
  • Body type: Small family car
  • Weirdest quirk: Early cars had the 'Quartic' steering wheel: a rectangle with rounded sides, meant to free up leg room. Nobody liked it, and it was gone by 1974.
  • Sold prices logged: 0

Sold prices

No sales logged yet. We haven't found a verified auction result for one of these. Seen one sell? Tell us on the Spotted page.

Fact-check pit lane

Specs, dates and production figures on this page were checked against:

More weird cars like this

Free · every Friday · no spam

Recalculating…

One email every Friday with the week's most baffling car, the auction listings we can't stop refreshing and the strangest motoring news. No buyer's guides, no spam.

  • Weirdest Car of the Week
  • Auction Watch
  • Weird News

One email a week. Unsubscribe any time. We never share your address. What's in it?