LEVC’s greatest hits

01 Austin FX3

Back when LEVC was still known as Carbodies, it secured a lucrative contract to build the post-war FX3 taxi. Designed to comply with the Conditions of Fitness for London taxicabs, the FX3 was a success with over 12,000 produced.

02 Austin FX4

The FX3’s successor arrived in 1958, but remarkably it remained in production with just a few updates (and name changes) all the way through until 1997. In 1982 Carbodies took over the rights to the hackney carriage from British Leyland.

03 London Taxis International TX4

Before it was owned by Geely and before things went electric, LEVC was also known as London Taxis International. Confusingly, the 2007 turbodiesel TX4 was actually the third generation of LTI’s revised black cab after the TX1 and TXII.

04 LEVC TX

It’s not easy updating an icon – just ask the team that worked on 2002’s Ford Thunderbird. Still, the TX has been a roaring success, and back in March 2023 LEVC announced that there were more of these range extenders on London’s streets than old TX4s.

05 MG M-Type

OK, now we’re really digging into history. Carbodies secured a contract to build most of the bodies for MG’s M-Type sports car in the late Twenties. The work allowed founder Bobby Jones to move the company to a new factory on Holyhead Road in Coventry.

06 Triumph 2000 estate

In the Sixties Carbodies won a contract to build big-booted versions of the Triumph 2000. The cars started life being partly built as saloons in Triumph’s Coventry factory, before they were sent down the road for conversion.

07 Range Rover Unitruck

When Carbodies was trying to branch out from just building taxis in the Eighties it was commissioned to build a posh pickup version of the Range Rover. Sadly only three prototypes were made – the Rangie was ahead of the times once again.

08 Jaguar E-type bonnet

This could be considered clutching at straws, but let us not underestimate the importance of Carbodies pressing almost 20,000 examples of the E-type’s stunning (and tricky to manufacture) bonnet before selling the tooling to Abbey Panels.

09 Daimler DK400 ‘Golden Zebra’

Carbodies was once part of the BSA Group alongside Daimler, and in the Fifties it may well have played a part in the outrageous ‘Docker Specials’ created by the BSA chair’s wife, Lady Norah Docker. This one used gold plating, real ivory and genuine zebra skin for the interior.