I guess if we line up any manufacturer’s 1965 products against Bill Mitchell’s creations, most, if not all will come off second best. Issigonis’s offerings look almost laughable by comparison to the ’65 Pontiac, and in my mind the even better looking Chevrolet Impala and Corvair. However, Issigonis had the last laugh, as the majority of smaller family sedans now follow the basic layout he helped develop. The Mini, which was never ‘styled’ in its original state lasted 41 years until 2000, by which time, the concept of the large American sedan was almost dead. Issigonis’s main argument was that in the US, planned obsolescence was the name of the day, so that people were conditioned to accept ever changing trends. At the 1800 launch, in a discussion with Ken Purdy, an American author, they both agreed that such things as wrap round windscreens and tail fins came and went to stimulate production of around 7 million cars a year. This is getting away from the P76. The BMC front-drivers might have been a bit ahead of their time, with the technology to make them work not developed enough. Hence the decision to go rear-wheel drive to match the locals, and not develop transverse concepts any further. Time, money and sometimes talent eluded the company I worked for and so the plug was pulled because things went horribly pear shaped in the parent company. I’m living with a couple of Issigonis ‘masterpieces’ which have been a challenge at times, but their merits far outweigh any shortcomings in the styling department. The funny thing is, the older I get, the more attractive I think the P76 becomes. A blue Targa Florio lives round the corner from me, and whenever the owner takes it down the road, it just looks and sounds stunning. They now have a real presence on the road.