The Austin 3-Litre was a British saloon car introduced by British Leyland in 1968. Sales were very poor and the model was discontinued in 1971 after less than 10,000 were made. It suffered from a perception that it was merely an enlarged Austin/Morris 1800, with which it shared its central section and doors, although it was in fact a quite different car.
Codenamed ADO61, the car was intended to be BMC's offering in the 3-litre executive class and was originally designed in the early 1960s, before the British Leyland era. Unlike the visually similar (but smaller) front wheel drive 1800 range, the 3-litre engine (a 7-bearing modification of the BMC C-Series) drove the rear wheels through a conventional 4 speed gearbox. The car used Hydrolastic suspension with self-levelling hydraulic rams at the rear and was praised for its excellent ride and handling. Alec Issigonis, who designed the front wheel drive cars, had no part in the 3-Litre, which he was reportedly keen to point out.
To cater for its intended market the interior was luxurious, featuring wood veneers and cloth headlining (but leather upholstery was not available, being replaced with a good-quality vinyl) and the boot was longer than that of the 1800, contributing to an overall length of 186 inches (the 1800 was 167 inches long).
Luxurious Wolseley and Vanden Plas 3-litre versions both reached prototype stage, but went no further.
No replacement car was made by Austin in this class since by the time one would have been required, Rover and Triumph were also within British Leyland, and this was seen as a market segment more properly server by those marques.
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