OXFORD 1/76 AUSTIN MAESTRO RATTAN BEIGE
Our second model of the Maestro makes its entrance in a biscuit beige registered LVL 618Y from 1982, launched officially in 1983 to favourable acclaim from the motoring media.
Introduced as a small family 5-door hatchback, the Maestro superseded both the Austin Maxi and the Allegro at the Morris Cowley plant of British Leyland. It had a 5-speed manual gearbox and our model represents the top of the range 1.6L engined car. Innovative in its time, the Maestro had a bonded laminated windscreen, homofocal headlights, body-coloured plastic bumpers, an electronic engine management system, adjustable front seat belt anchorage positions, an asymmetrically split rear seat and a 12.000 mile service interval. Over 600,000 Austin Maestro cars were sold and it was sixth in the best selling category in 1983 and 1984.
Our Oxford model incorporates the physical features of the original, including black exterior trim, silver headlights, beige bumpers as per the body colour and silver/black radiator grille. The Austin badge with blue flash is embedded into the radiator grille whilst to the rear the Austin badge appears with green and blue graphics with the Maestro name printed in silver on the offside.
In real life, the Maestro faced a lot of competition and did not survive, even after it became the MG Maestro. The only Maestro variation was a 2-door van.