The Austin Montego is a British
family car
A family car is a car classification used in Europe to describe normally-sized cars. The name comes from the marketed use of these cars to carry a whole family locally or on vacations. Most family cars are hatchbacks or sedan (automobile), sedans, ...
that was produced by
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
from 1984 until 1988, and then by
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the British vehicle manufacturing conglomerate known as "BL plc" until 1986 (formerly British Leyland), which had been a state-owned company since 1975. It initially included the Austin Rover Group car business (comprisi ...
from 1988 until 1995. The Montego was the replacement for both the
rear-wheel drive
Rear-wheel drive (RWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the rear wheels only. Until the late 20th century, rear-wheel drive was the most common configuration for cars.
Most rear-wheel ...
Morris Ital
The Morris Ital is a medium-sized car that was built by British Leyland (BL) from 1980 to 1984. A successor to the Morris Marina, it was available in a variety of bodystyles.
Design and launch
The Ital was given the design code ADO73 F/L (beca ...
and the
front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...
Austin Ambassador
The Austin Ambassador is a large family car that was introduced by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland in March 1982. The vehicle was a heavily updated version of the Princess, a saloon car that had lacked a hatchback. Only the ...
ranges to give British Leyland an all-new competitor for the
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coefficien ...
and
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car that was sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The firs ...
.
On its launch, it was sold as both an Austin and an
MG. It was the last car to be launched under the Austin marque, and from 1988 it was sold without a marque, following the phasing out of the Austin name.
Design and development
The Montego started life as a four-door
notchback
A notchback is a design of a car with the rearmost section that is distinct from the passenger compartment and where the back of the passenger compartment is at an angle to the top of what is typically the rear baggage compartment. Notchback cars ...
variant of project LC10. Development on the new model, intended to succeed both the
Morris Marina
The Morris Marina is a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive C-segment, small family car that was manufactured by the Morris Motors, Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace the Morris Minor in the Mo ...
and the
Princess
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
ranges by the turn of the 1980s, had begun in 1977 but ultimately the new car was not launched until seven years after development had started; in the meantime, the Marina had been updated and rebadged as the
Morris Ital
The Morris Ital is a medium-sized car that was built by British Leyland (BL) from 1980 to 1984. A successor to the Morris Marina, it was available in a variety of bodystyles.
Design and launch
The Ital was given the design code ADO73 F/L (beca ...
from 1980, whilst the Princess had been updated as the
Austin Ambassador
The Austin Ambassador is a large family car that was introduced by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland in March 1982. The vehicle was a heavily updated version of the Princess, a saloon car that had lacked a hatchback. Only the ...
in 1982. The Honda-based
Triumph Acclaim
The Triumph Acclaim is a front-wheel drive compact family saloon/sedan manufactured by British Leyland (BL) from 1981 to 1984. It is based on the Honda Ballade. It used a Honda-designed engine, was manufactured under licence from Honda, and ...
had also been introduced in 1981 largely as a stop-gap to keep potential buyers interested in BL products until both the Montego and the
Rover 200 series
The Rover 200 Series, and later the Rover 25, are a series of small family cars that were produced by British manufacturer Rover from 1984 until 2005.
There have been three distinct generations of the Rover 200. The first generation was a four ...
were launched in 1984.
The
Austin Maestro
The Austin Maestro is a five-door hatchback small family car (and two-door van derivative) that was produced from 1982 to 1987 by British Leyland, and from 1988 until 1994 by Rover Group, as a replacement for the Morris Marina and Austin Alleg ...
emerged as the five-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
variant. When the designs diverged, the ''Montego'' became project LM11 (the Maestro being LM10), and remained based on a lengthened version of the LC10s Volkswagen Golf style front
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of automotive suspension system that uses the top of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in the front suspension of modern vehicles, and is named for American automotive engineer Ear ...
/ rear
twist beam
The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the r ...
chassis. The Montego received different front and rear styling following the replacement of designer
David Bache
David Ernest Bache (14 June 1925 – 26 November 1994) was a British automobile designer. For much of his career he worked with Rover.
Early life
Bache was born in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Aston Villa and England footballer Joe Bache who w ...
with
Roy Axe
Royden Axe (September 1937 – 5 October 2010) was a British car designer.
Early life and career
Axe was born in Scunthorpe and attended Scunthorpe Grammar School (now St Lawrence Academy).
Axe began his career in 1959 with the Rootes Group wh ...
. It also featured body-coloured bumpers (as did the ''Maestro''), and front wipers which hid themselves under the bonnet when parked.
The Montego offered many improvements over the Maestro, many of which were later incorporated into the latter, such as a new
SOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
(the
S-series S series or Series-S or ''variation'', may refer to:
Transportation
* Bedford S series, trucks
* Chevrolet S-series, pickup trucks
* GMC S-Series, school bus
* International S series, trucks
* International S series (bus chassis)
* S series (T ...
), and a more robust dashboard. As with the Maestro, there was a high-performance
MG version which again used the solid-state instrument cluster,
trip computer
A trip computer is a computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform gen ...
, and synthesised voice for the information and warning systems. The dashboard fitted to the Montego was superior to that originally designed for the Maestro and featured a rally-style tachometer, a service indicator and a representation of the car showing open doors, lights left on, etc.
![Austin Montego Countryman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Austin_Montego_Countryman.jpg)
An
estate variant, with larger luggage capacity than its competitors, two additional rear-facing child seats and
self-levelling suspension Self-levelling refers to an automobile suspension system that maintains a constant ride height of the vehicle above the road, regardless of load.
Purpose
Many vehicle systems on a conventional vehicle are negatively affected by the change in attit ...
, also styled by Roy Axe, followed shortly and received instant acclaim, winning the company a
Design Council
The Design Council, formerly the Council of Industrial Design, is a United Kingdom charity incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated mission is "to champion great design that improves lives and makes things better".
It was instrumental in the prom ...
award.
There were originally plans to name it the ''
Rover 400 series
The Rover 400 Series, and later the Rover 45, are a series of small family cars that were produced by the British manufacturer Rover (marque), Rover from 1990 to 2005. The cars were co-developed as part of Rover's collaboration with Honda. The ...
'', and pre–production cars in
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
were seen bearing "ROVER" badges, and badged as 413i, 416i, 420 and 420i.
The unrelated 400 series launched in April 1990 while from 1995, a decade ''after'' the Montego was introduced, the 416i and 420i names would be used, but on the unrelated second-generation
Rover 400 series
The Rover 400 Series, and later the Rover 45, are a series of small family cars that were produced by the British manufacturer Rover (marque), Rover from 1990 to 2005. The cars were co-developed as part of Rover's collaboration with Honda. The ...
, by that time, the Montego was already out of production.
To market
![MG Montego Burrells Walk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/MG_Montego_Burrells_Walk.jpg)
The Montego was launched on 25 April 1984. It was initially available as a four-door saloon only, filling the gap in the range left by the discontinuation of the Morris Ital saloon two months earlier. However, it would be produced alongside the Ital estate until that model was discontinued in August 1984.
The estate variant was launched at the
British International Motor Show
The British International Motor Show is an annual motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders between 1903 and 2008 in England, and as The British Motor Show since 2021 by Automotion Events.
Initially held in London at Th ...
in October of that year. The MG turbocharged variant was released in early 1985 as the fastest production MG ever with a 0–60 mph time of 7.3 seconds, and a top speed of . The Vanden Plas version featured leather seats, walnut veneer and features such as electric windows, central locking and power door mirrors.
Like the Maestro, the Montego suffered from its overly long development phase, which had been begun in 1975 and which was hampered throughout by the industrial turmoil that plagued both British Leyland and Austin Rover Group during this period. The
Ryder Report had recommended the costly modernization of both the Longbridge and Cowley factories, and since Longbridge was to come on stream first - the
Austin Metro
The Metro is a supermini car, later a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin mini Metro. It was intended to complement and eventually replace the M ...
was put in production first, even though its design had been started after the Maestro/Montego. As a direct result of this delay, the two cars were now stylistically out of step, having been styled by several different designers - Ian Beech,
David Bache
David Ernest Bache (14 June 1925 – 26 November 1994) was a British automobile designer. For much of his career he worked with Rover.
Early life
Bache was born in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Aston Villa and England footballer Joe Bache who w ...
, Roger Tucker and finally,
Roy Axe
Royden Axe (September 1937 – 5 October 2010) was a British car designer.
Early life and career
Axe was born in Scunthorpe and attended Scunthorpe Grammar School (now St Lawrence Academy).
Axe began his career in 1959 with the Rootes Group wh ...
, had all contributed to the Montego's styling. Arguably, both the Maestro and Montego had been compromised by the reuse of a single platform, doors and wheelbase to bridge two size classes - a mistake that BMC/BL had made before with the
Austin 1800
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...
and the
Austin Maxi
The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. It was the first British five-door hatchback.
British Leyland built and sold the Maxi alongside the 1971 ...
in the 1960s. Indeed, Roy Axe, when installed as Austin Rover's director of design in 1982, was so horrified by the design of the Maestro and Montego when he first viewed them in prototype form he recommended that they be scrapped and the whole design exercise restarted.
![Rover Montego Estate Countryman 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Rover_Montego_Estate_Countryman_2.0i_1993.jpg)
Like many BL cars before it, early Montegos suffered from build quality and reliability problems which badly damaged the car's reputation amongst the public. In some ways, the technology was ahead of its time, notably the solid-state instrumentation and engine management systems, but the "talking" dashboard fitted to high-end models (and initially used to promote the Montego as an advanced high-tech offering) was prone to irritating faults and came to be regarded as something of an embarrassment by BL and the British press. This feature was discontinued after a short period. There were also problems with the early sets of body-coloured bumpers which tended to crack in cold weather at the slightest impact.
The Montego was heavily dependent on its home British market for sales, and in particular the lucrative fleet sector where it competed directly with both the
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coefficien ...
and
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
'
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car that was sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The firs ...
. By virtue of their wealthy American parent companies, and their much deeper market penetration into continental Europe compared to BL, both Ford and Vauxhall could afford to offer deep discounts to fleets to increase sales and market share. Also, thanks to Britain's membership of the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, both Ford and General Motors could import cars tariff-free from their continental plants to take advantage of exchange rate fluctuations and further undercut BL. This practice greatly damaged sales of the Montego, and its smaller Maestro sister, and only compounded the early issues with build quality and reliability.
Later developments
Development on the Montego continued. A replacement was proposed by Roy Axe in 1986, which would have been the existing Montego core structure clothed with new outer panels to mimic the design language set by the recently launched
Rover 800-series, and would have been designated the Rover 400-series. This concept, designated AR16 and planned to go into production around 1989, would have also spawned a five-door hatchback version (designated AR17) to increase Rover's options in its rivalry with the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier.
The AR16/17 concepts were however abandoned in November 1988 due to lack of funds, and a facelift to the existing car (designated AR9) released in 1988 enhanced its appeal, which was buoyed up by both the
Perkins
Perkins is a surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon corruption of the kin of Pierre (from Pierre kin to Pierrekin to Perkins), introduced into England by the Norman Conquest. It is found throughout mid- and southern England.
Another derivation com ...
-engined
diesel
Diesel may refer to:
* Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression
* Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines
* Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...
model, and the seven-seater version of the "Countryman" estate. The 2-litre turbodiesel (often known by its Perkins designation 'Prima') was a development of the
O-Series petrol engine already used in the range. The diesel saloon won a ''CAR'' magazine 'giant test' against the Citroën BX (1.8 XUDT), the then new Peugeot 405 (1.8 XUDT) and Audi 80 (1.6) turbo diesels. They rated the 405 the best car, followed by the BX and then the Montego, with the Audi coming in last. "But if people buy diesels, and turbo diesel for their economy, the winner has to be the Montego. ...its engine is - even when roundly thrashed - more than 10% more economical than the rest. For those isolated moments when cost control is not of the essence, the Montego is a car you can enjoy too. The steering and driving position are quite excellent. ...the suspension as 'impressively refined'. It is silent over rough bumps, poised and well damped."
The turbo diesel became a favourite of the
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
for officer transport. ''
Car Mechanics Magazine'' ran a de-mobbed RAF officer transport Montego bought from a Ministry of Defence auction in 1996.
The facelift also saw the phasing out of the
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
name. These late-1980s models had a badge resembling the Rover Viking longship, but it was not identical, nor did the word "Rover" ever appear on the cars.
Though the car failed to match its rivals, such as the
Volkswagen Passat
The Volkswagen Passat is a series of D-segment, large family cars manufactured and marketed by the Germany, German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Sa ...
, the car sold well to the likes of the
Ford Sierra
The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coefficien ...
and
Vauxhall Cavalier
The Vauxhall Cavalier was a large family car that was sold primarily in the UK by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The firs ...
.
By the early 1990s, the Montego was terminally aged and its popularity was dwindling, although this was offset by the popularity of new cars like the second generation
Rover 200 series
The Rover 200 Series, and later the Rover 25, are a series of small family cars that were produced by British manufacturer Rover from 1984 until 2005.
There have been three distinct generations of the Rover 200. The first generation was a four ...
, and its saloon equivalent, the
Rover 400 Series
The Rover 400 Series, and later the Rover 45, are a series of small family cars that were produced by the British manufacturer Rover (marque), Rover from 1990 to 2005. The cars were co-developed as part of Rover's collaboration with Honda. The ...
. Saloon production finished in early 1993 on the launch of the
Rover 600 Series
The Rover 600 Series was a compact executive car range that was produced by the British manufacturer Rover from 1993 to 1999.
The exterior of the Rover 600 was designed by Rover, a reskin of the European Honda Accord, also built in the United ...
. The estate continued until December 1994, almost a year after Rover's takeover by
BMW. The second generation Rover 400 Series was launched shortly afterwards as a hatchback and a saloon, further filling the gaps in the Rover range left by the phasing-out of the Montego.
In its final year, ''
What Car?
''What Car?'' is a British monthly automobile magazine and website, currently edited by Steve Huntingford and published by Haymarket Consumer Media. Other team members include deputy editor Darren Moss and test editors Will Nightingale, Neil ...
'' magazine said "Austin Rover's once 'great white hope', Montego matured into a very decent car — but nobody noticed". The chassis development for the Montego and Maestro's rear suspension was used as a basis for later Rover cars, and was well regarded.
Montegos continued to be built in small numbers in
CKD form at the Cowley plant in Oxford until 1994, when production finally ended. The last car was signed by all those that worked on it, and is now on display at the British
Heritage Motor Centre
The British Motor Museum in Warwickshire, England holds the world's largest collection of historic British cars, with over 300 cars on display from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust.
History
The creation o ...
in
Gaydon
Gaydon is a civil parish and village in Warwickshire, England, situated between Leamington Spa and Banbury. In the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 376,
increasing to 446 at the 2011 Census.
The village is at the junction of the ...
, Warwickshire. A total of 546,000 Austin/Rover Montegos and 23,000 MG Montegos were produced, with Britain by far being the biggest market for the car.
In all, 436,000 Montegos were sold in the UK between 1984 and 1995. In August 2006, a survey by ''
Auto Express
''Auto Express'' is a weekly motoring magazine sold in the United Kingdom published by Autovia Limited. The editor-in-chief is Steve Fowler.
History and profile
Launched in September 1988, its 1,000th issue was published on 20 February 2008. ...
'' revealed that the Montego was Britain's eighth-most scrapped car of the last 30 years, with just 8,988 still in working order. Contributing to this, areas of the bodywork that were to be covered by plastic trim (such as the front and rear bumpers) were left unpainted and thus unprotected. In addition, pre-1989 models fitted with the A and S-series engines cannot run on unleaded
petrol
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
without the
cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head (often abbreviated to simply "head") sits above the cylinders and forms the roof of the combustion chamber.
In sidevalve engines, the head is a simple sheet of metal; whereas in more modern ov ...
being converted or needing fuel additives. This led to many owners simply scrapping the cars, as leaded petrol was removed from sale in Britain after 1999, and by 2003 most petrol stations had stopped selling LRP (lead replacement petrol) due to falling demand as the number of cars requiring it declined.
The Austin Montego, like many other Austin Rover cars at the time, offered a high luxury model. Sold opposite the MG, the Montego Vanden Plas was the luxury alternative. The Vanden Plas featured leather seats and door cards (velour in the estate version), powered windows, mirrors, door locks and sunroof. Alloy wheels were offered and later became standard on all cars. An automatic gearbox was also offered. It was available in both saloon and estate bodystyles. All Vanden Plas Montegos were 2.0 litres, either EFi (electronic fuel injection) or standard carburettor engines.
International markets
Europe
The Montego was sold in several continental European markets. In France, the Estate was particularly popular.
New Zealand
![1991 MG 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/1991_MG_2.0_SL_Estate_%2814944856306%29.jpg)
In
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, the Austin Montego was launched in 1984. The only models available were the manual 2.0-litre HLS or Mayfair versions, and only in estate form. The sedan version was not offered in New Zealand due to concerns that it would compete directly with the
Honda Accord
The , also known as the in Japan and China for certain generations, is a series of cars manufactured by Honda since 1976, best known for its four-door sedan variant, which has been one of the best-selling cars in the United States since 1989. ...
, locally assembled by the
New Zealand Motor Corporation
The New Zealand Motor Corporation was the New Zealand representative, importer, distributor and retailer of a number of the best-known British automobiles. It carried out the same functions for a wide range of manufacturers of industrial machin ...
, which had changed from assembling BL to Honda models. Also available from 1987 the Montego sedan was sold in the Vanden Plas range with the 2.0-litre fuel-injected motor.
From about 1989 onwards, a wider range of models were imported by a new company,
Rover New Zealand; this included sedan versions for the first time. Also new were the MG 2.0 range (identical to the
MG Montego sold in the UK), and all wore the official
MG badge. The main Auckland dealer developed an air conditioning system as an option for these models in conjunction with local specialists.
China
A version of the
Austin Maestro
The Austin Maestro is a five-door hatchback small family car (and two-door van derivative) that was produced from 1982 to 1987 by British Leyland, and from 1988 until 1994 by Rover Group, as a replacement for the Morris Marina and Austin Alleg ...
with a Montego front end was briefly built in China by
FAW, as the Lubao CA 6410 and as the Jiefang CA 6440 UA Van.
This was after the rights to the Montego and Maestro had been sold by
Etsong in 2003, who had been manufacturing Maestro variants earlier.
India
The Montego Estate was sold in India as the Rover Montego in collaboration with
Sipani Automobiles - (the company that tried and failed to market the
Reliant Kitten
The Reliant Kitten is a small four-wheeled economy car which was manufactured from 1975 to 1982 in saloon, van and estate variants by the Reliant Motor Company in Tamworth, England. It was Reliant's second attempt at selling in the small car ec ...
in India - a version of the
Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
with four wheels and Triumph-inspired front suspension - as the Sipani Dolphin). The car was not a success, selling only 287 examples before being discontinued.
Taiwan
From the mid 1980s until the early 1990s, a local importer sold the Montego along with the Mini and Maestro under Austin, then Rover badge.
Trinidad and Tobago
From 1997–2000, a private importer sold the Montego in this Caribbean nation under the Rover badge. Build quality was poor and the company soon folded.
Engines
* 1984–89 - 1275 cc ''
A-Plus''
I4, 68 hp (51 kW) at 5600 rpm and 75 lb·ft (102 Nm) at 3500 rpm
* 1984–93 - 1598 cc
S-series S series or Series-S or ''variation'', may refer to:
Transportation
* Bedford S series, trucks
* Chevrolet S-series, pickup trucks
* GMC S-Series, school bus
* International S series, trucks
* International S series (bus chassis)
* S series (T ...
,
* 1984–93 - 1994 cc
O-Series 104 bhp (carburettor), 115 bhp (fuel injection), and 150 bhp (turbo)
Maestro and Montego Owners Club
* 1988–95 - 1994 cc Austin/Rover MDi - Perkins Prima TD I4, and
References
*
External links
The AA Montego Review PDFs
* ROVER MONTEGO 2.0L DLX TURB
* AUSTIN ROVER MONTEGO 2.0
{{Rover Group cars, 1986-2005
Austin vehicles, Montego
British Leyland vehicles
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
Mid-size cars
Sedans
Station wagons
1980s cars
1990s cars
Cars introduced in 1984