The Austin Kimberley and Austin Tasman (sold by Morris in New Zealand alongside the Austin models) "X6" models are a pair of Leyland Australia-designed front-wheel-drive sedans based on the Austin 1800 (ADO17) platform, that were produced from 1970 to 1972 and sold by Austin. At the time of the X6 being launched onto the Australian market it was quite an advanced design in comparison to the other competitors from Ford, Holden and Chrysler, whose rear-wheel drive, conventionally sprung underpinnings dominated the market at the time.
Design
These cars were offered as an Australian replacement to the Austin 1800. Their boxy styling, developed for the car to be a proper six-seater, was all-new, but a few features, including the doors, were retained. These doors however utilised recessed door handles, to satisfy Australian Design Rules safety concerns. The body had an exceptionally stiff torsional rigidity, a trait it inherited from the 1800s.
The standard powerplant for the X6 range was a transverse mounted 2.2L OHC straight-six engine,[5] based on the 1500/1750 Austin Maxi unit. At the time of the X6's introduction, it was the only car in production with a transverse straight-six-cylinder engine. The Tasman's single