Myth Buster BMC Aerodinamica
Debunking the most common old wives’ tales
PININFARINA BMC AERODINAMICA 1800 AND BLMC 1100 1 IT WAS THIS, OR THE MAXI
‘Why did British Leyland make the Maxi when it could have had this instead?’ bewail many enthusiasts about the Pininfarina Aerodinamica, for it’s commonly believed that BL chose Alec Issigonis’ Maxi instead of the 1800 for production. However, the Maxi – described by Pininfarina designer, Leonardo Fioravanti, as ‘monstrous’ – was largely complete when Pininfarina secured a BMC 1800 floorpan and running gear in August 1967. Fioravanti then came up with the Aerodinamica’s stylish and streamlined body in just three months, for November’s Turin Motor Show. If anything, it was a riposte to the Maxi, not a likely alternative.
2 CITROËN STOLE THE IDEAS
The 1968 Pininfarina 1100 (using the BMC 1100/1300 as a basis) bears a close resemblance to the 1970 Citroën GS, while the Aerodinamica 1800 also looks separated at birth from 1974’s CX. Both French cars were designed by Robert Opron. Pininfarina did accuse Citroën of plagiarism over the CX, but was cagier over the GS, saying that there was no contact between the two companies during the 1960s; Citroën claimed that the GS was done wholly in-house. However, Fioravanti did turn up at the GS’s Geneva launch and parked his 1100 near one to make a point. The general consensus seems to be that Opron was influenced by the Pininfarina cars, but that the GS and CX shapes were already on the drawing board.
3 IT WAS A LOST OPPORTUNITY FOR BRITISH LEYLAND
With hindsight, it’s easy to say that these two radical designs might have revitalised and saved BL. However, given British traditionalism, would these complex cars have been embraced by customers or regarded with the same sort of suspicion as later departures from the norm, such as the Princess? We suspect the latter…