Behind the Wheel: 1974 Leyland Force 7V

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The Force 7V is probably the rarest of all Australian muscle cars - only 10 survived the crusher when Leyland scrapped the project before releasing it to the public. Interestingly, it had more local content than its illustrious rivals of the period (the Ford GTs, Holden Monaros and Chrysler Valiant Chargers). Step behind the wheel of this unique 70s gem at the National Motor Museum.

National Motor Museum Australia

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When this car was current I was involved in the car club scene & worked in Sydney as a mechanic at a business heavily involved in the same club scene. When the auction came up for the last handful of Force 7s' there was a discrepancy in the numbers. In all, & including the auction cars, we could physically account for 13 cars.In some circles this figure was well known. As an aside the MG Car Club held its'club meetings in the theatrette at Leyland in Zetland. When we had the last one after Leyland closed (offices were still functioning) we found many dozens of tea chests full of engineering & line drawings of many Leyland past & then current cars.However, some of our members being, shall we say nosey ? found 2 chests full of proposed plans for a very advanced Force 7. They included a 5ltr motor, 5sp g/box, larger flared guards with a rear wing mounted a la Road Runner style above the roof line. Most astonishingly there were tech specs for a 2sp diff. I'll let you wonder at its' racing & Bathurst potential. What if ? Sadly, we shall never know.

PhilipShand

the car was a world beater...the hatch was full width and you could sleep in it easily with the rear seat down. The p76 and force seven finished because leyland went bad in the uk. The force 7 inherited the accurate and easy steering of the p76 and it handled even better. The v8 was full alloy, outstanding power to weight ratio and the car had a 50/50 weight distribution front to rear. These cars would have been enourmously popular in australia, australias aston martin, but with roof racks for surfboards! Any faults it came off the line with were minor, and cosmetic. Cheers!

lp

Obviously, never driven a 76 if he thinks there is something wrong with the steering. The 76 was way ahead of it's competitors at the time, and even today shows a lot of design & mechanical advancements that we take for granted today.

christophercollins

Very cool video and would love to see more of the car as it is restored over time. Thanks for the upload

michaelkip

I attended the auction in the 1970s where the last 8 were sold. Wish I had the money at the time to buy one.

russellhammond

I've seen 2 of them in Sydney in 30yrs, one green, one orange. The latter I saw at the air show in Albion Park. If they were anything like the P76 I owned, rust would be a huge problem, but the engine was great, all alloy and a great runner.

markaylott

Saw a white one of these at the Ellenbrook shopping centre a couple of years ago - still have the photos!

GralphW

You had the job of curating and maintaining this highly collectible car at the national motor museum and you neglected it so badly that the engine had seized and the water pump seized? WTF?

werdna

I owned a p76, best classic car l ever owned

timothyburrows

I've lookd over this car at the museum, pity about the colour. The first one I ever saw was a white one at the late Paul Terry's Extravaganza in Albany WA.

hr

People say "It would have sold well, if only..."

But really it wouldn't. Australians have never really embraced 2 door muscle cars. Ford struggled to get rid of the last Hardtops. Holden dropped the Monaro, then revived it then dropped it again. Chrysler's Charger didn't sell well enough to save Chrysler.

And with only a 4.4 litre V8, the Force 7 wouldn't have been competitive at Bathurst so "Win on Sunday sell on Monday" wouldn't have happened either.

Nice car, though. The P76 was definitely ahead of it's time in many ways, sadly that often doesn't translate to good sales.

alanjm

at least that is cooler than my fully stock leyland p76.

Ben.jack.in.off.to.you

The Force 7 wouldn't have done any good anyway even if Leyland's ship wasn't about to sink below the waterline and disappear forever into automotive history. Why? Well because despite the many years of producing cars and trucks, by that stage the British Motor Industry had truly established itself as generally (there were a few exceptions) still not being able to produce something in the price class of Leyland that was put together well and was reliable. The Force 7 was supposed to be a muscle car, and generally people bought such cars because of image not practicality. The image factor came about through wins at events like Bathurst, which wasn't going to happen with the Force 7. The Japanese were beginning to import very reliable and economical cars which more people were turning to. It was a nice try by Leyland and maybe if it was executed earlier and more focused on quality, it may have succeeded when Leyland was more financially sound.

jamessmyth