1978 Austin Allegro Vanden Plas 1500 - Still Britain's Darkest Hour?

Enjoyable watch, these and other BL cars of the era are now evocative everyday classics however unloved they were at the time.

I’ve always like their looks. Dare I say it, but hardly any less good looking as an Alfasud 🤷‍♂️

My second car was an Allegro back at the start of the eighties. Everyone used to take the piss out of me for having it but you know. I have nothing but fond memories owning it. Was it cool no, but then, I was never shallow enough to be cool. What it did so well was start on the button it was easy to get in and out of which was very important for taking my disabled mother out for drives, it was quiet and above all else rode really smoothly down the road. Like so many things that were not cool or unfashionable the people calling it those things either never drove it the way it was intended to be driven or simply, they were so shallow that owning the right car made them feel better about themselves.
I went on to own fast bikes and cars but will always have a soft spot for my old Allegro and the comfort and dependability it gave me and now I am older and the fast bikes and cars are but a memory also it is the allegro that gave me the happiest memories for it was the car that gave my ageing disabled mother many happy days out across the moors and around Devon.

I owned four Allegros. All of them brown.

Would a car pass an MOT these days without rear seatbelts?

My one which I had in the late 90's had a twin carb, and could tackle any hill with a full load of people, It was even used by the person I sold it to to tow a car on a trailer from central England up to Central Scotland lol.

I'd give a lot to have the Allegro Estate we had for a year or so back in the late 90s. Loved the estate design - just crying out for a decent set of wheels and a lairy paintjob 😂 OK, and a bigger engine. And no, it never gave problems - the then other half wrote it off (as she did so many 🙄)

British Leyland made a few Vanden Plas prototypes on the 1800, Princess and Marina, even the Mini more upmarket than the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet.

Reminds me of the American Chevy that was rebuffed as a Cadillac......hopeless disappointment for the Cadillac brand.

I’m sure you are getting a lot of “My Mum/Dad/Aunt/Uncle etc. had one of these” 😂 - and this is yet another one - My parents had a 2-Door Austin Allego 1300 in the exact same colour. But unfortunately it was an awful car - finally lunched its gearbox on the highway. Despite being smaller and much more rust prone the prior ADO16 range was much better.

It's a very nice car indeed.
You can keep your Lamborghinis.

It was the "Leyland Joke car" as one of the magazines said at the time , that and the Allegro equipe , a sorrowfull end to the great Austin 1100 range , beloved of the Police Panda cars and forever associated with Basil Fawlty . That said , the 1100 varients pf the Riley, Wolseley , and VDP were truely great little cars but the Allegro ....oh dear , grown men dislocated their shoulders when reversing the things due to the square wheel and the clumsy frumpy looks of the Allegro did the rest . Only good little car to come from the Leyland years was the Metro .

70s brown,...
But, in Black
saying that i am very pleased to see it in that condition
but i would have to change the wheels tyres lol
originality is brilliant
and it drives well, looks in great condition
but for me i would like to feel how it how it couldve been
those tyres are awful around corners as you mentioned
it is very odd looking
i remember the Allegros
but not the vanden plas
good vid

We used to call this shed on wheels.

TR7s and 8s are making comeback now. Some good aftermarket stuff available too.

An Uncle had a base model ,which performed and lasted perfectly well.I really liked the estate.Shame there was never a van version.I like the shape of the cars.

It's hideous!

I own one and it’s beautiful to drive😅

Of course they'd blank the lambos, finally an interesting relatable video, what most you tubers fail to realise............. nobody gives a sh1t about supercars ......... no one

Dash layout is outdated and does not match the dash layout of the series 2 Allegro.

I had an allegro and it was great

Vanden Plas ruined the reputation that it made with the P5 Rover and the Wolseley 6 by doing up an Allegro.

The Allegro could have been better if not for bad management within British Leyland, the unreliability of the Lucas alternator and, in many cases, shoddy workmanship. The styling was somewhat unorthodox and looked like Miss Piggy when compared to a BMW.

All cars from that era rusted, all of them. So why does everyone knock British cars for that reason. No bloody wonder we don't make cars any more with all the critics. The Italians made cars that rusted when new when they were first washed. But the Italians still bought them , patriots keep everyone in work

what a monstrosity

Love the irony of the VP on the Lambo's forecourt.

Beautiful Motor.

heap of shite really

The Police had a lot of Allegro,s, as Panda Cars the quartic steering wheel interfered with the ability to "feed " the wheel, also called "push pull ",which Police Instructors were very strict about then. so their cars had round steering wheels, Their reputation was spoiled by the "Friday Cars" syndrome, where assembly Workers just "chucked them together" to clock off on time, don't blame them, but it resulted in things like massive door shut gaps, leading to rain water filling the footwells.
As commented by other testers, the Hydragas system is second to none.
That part of North West London where Vanden Plas was sited , was also a centre of excellence, with firms like Smiths Industries, (gauges), Lucas, (dynamos, control boxes, alternators,etc), CAV, electrical equipment for vehicles, like the indicator "ears" for London Transport RTs and Routemasters and Park Royal Vehicles making, bus bodies for various Operators , including the RT and Routemaster, and , to finish off with this comment Vanden Plas making this Allegro into a luxury car.

BL was destroyed through the usual standard of British nepotistic management rather than particularly poor cars. The Allegro for it’s time is rather futuristic and at least looks different to the big standard motors of the day. The Vanden Plas piece is mad and novel and second hand, an even bigger talking point. What’s not to like?

I owned 2 of them a 1500 estate in orange both cars very comfortable and a 1300 saloon if servived regular they were no less reliable than most other cars of the day

When I hear Vanden Plas it sounds like a made up company. Kind of like Vandaley Industries in Seinfeld

I love when you keep saying "compared to the Lamborghini"😂

Stop listening to the BL bashers, they made some great cars. Dad had an Allegro, lots of people had them, and were loyal to the brand. Those people moved on to Rover offerings, the 25, the 45, and eventually the amazing Rover 75.

An excellent colour for a really 💩 car😂

We had one for years. it was brilliant. smooth nippy (1300 special) fairly cheap to run and comfortable. Never had a issue! P.S. You do pronounce the 'S' in Plas.

Good old British 🇬🇧 Leyland Best cars ever made We said they where the worst cars ever made but remember you have to make bad cars before you make good cars.

This is a really good reviewof a very interesting car. I find it hard to believe there were no rear seatbelts, though. Thats crazy.
I noticed your gomment about the pillars. Don't let the thickness fool you. If you look at all the roof pillars in a Volvo 140/240, they are thin. Way back in the early to mid 60s when the 140 was being designed, the pillars were designed to be no thicker than the distance between the eyes of an average person. They got something right, as no vehicle has yet to improve upon the structural integrity of the roof of a Volvo 240. Officially, the 140 does not count as it was never tested, but it is the identical body shell.

The lack of hatchback was a deliberate design choice - they didn't want to impact sales of the Maxi.

How could BL make that thing and a V8 Stag at the same time.

The Allegro was a good car as Renaults and Peugeots of this time

All Allegros, like Minis, 1100s, Maxis, !800s, etc. have the gearbox in the engine oil sump, so prefer warm oil. The gearbox became end-on in th Maestro/Montego in 1982.

What a marvelous oddball. Thank you.

My Dad had an Allegro. It was fecking purple and even back then the paint was peeling off it.

in 1979 a ford dealership sales manager told me new car buyers weren't bothered about rust. just summed up the industry attitude of the time.

That Allegro looks just like JM! 😂

Vanden Plus predated Rolls Royce, so maybe they have Vanden Plus grills.

It may not have an allegro badge but its an allegro with a silly grill

I was one of only a few at the time that actually liked the VDP 1500(Late ones were 1750s i believe) The late Austins were dreadful looking things..

The 'hot shift' AP automatic gearbox is a marvel of engineering and in a VdP 1750 (very rare) makes a great car.