END OF THE ROAD FOR GREAT BRIT BANGERS...

Classic cars scrap for survival

FAMILY FAVES: The British-built cars vanishing from our roads

SOME classic British cars are on the verge of extinction.

Models like the Ford Cortina, Morris Marina and Austin Metro previously sold in their millions.

But now the family favourites are on the endangered list.

Tracking app How Many Left counts the dwindling numbers of “classic” British cars.

It found the rarest of all is the Morris Ital. More than 175,000 were built between 1980 and 1984 but only 26 are left.

The Austin Maxi is another model that was once common but is now vanishing.

Between 1969 and 1981 almost 473,000 were built but only 110 are still running.

Former Miss Castrol pin-up Bronwyn Burrell, 77, still drives her 1970 Maxi in rallies. She said: “I definitely have a soft spot for old ‘endangered’ British cars.”

Miles Cartwright, a former historic rallying champ, leads motoring group Prime Fillet. He said: “It will be a crying shame if 70s and 80s everyday cars become extinct.”

Fellow Prime Fillet member Roger Platt said: “Bearing in mind the millions that were made, it is a sad reflection on the producers.”

Ford built an astonishing 4,154,902 Cortinas between 1962 and 1982. Just 4,100 survive, according to How Many Left.

And of 3.4million Ford Sierras built between 1982 and 1993, only 2,000 are still out and about on the highway.