New UK Car Price Listings, December 1974

[JeeExEll]

From MOTOR, December 14th 1974.

Apologies for not posting a scan of the original as I don't have a scanner at the moment. I tried close-up photos of the pages but the quality was too poor to use.

In 1974 the whole selection of cars available in the UK could be fitted into just over 6 columns in the original magazine, less than 2 pages of A4 size. The last 2/3 column on the right was for campervans.

This is it, the whole lot ↓ ↓ ↓

 

Instead, I've summarised the published listings below. The missing ones are pretty much just different spec cars of the models listed and an approximation can be made of price.

(Edited line added - in a post below NegativeCreep has found out that the conversion ratio of prices between 1974 and 2017 is 11.1 / £1).

These December 74 cars would have been new on a "N" suffix registration number after 1st August 1974.

 

ALFA ROMEO

Alfasud 1200. £1423

Alfasud 1200 Ti. £1718

Alfetta 1800. £2503

Giulia Super 1600. £1963

GT Junior 1600. £2358

2000 Saloon. £2650

(auto £250)

2000 Spider Veloce. £3043

Montreal 2600 lhd. £4908

Montreal 2600 rhd. £6085

 

AMC. all lhd

Gremlin 5.0. £2636

Hornet Sportabout (!) 5.0. £2856

Matador Cassini 5.9. £3182

Ambassador 5.9. £3262

Jeep CJ5 3.8. £1652

Jeep CJ6 3.8. £1868

Jeep Cherokee est 5.9. £3808

Jeep Wagoneer est 5.9. £3915

 

ASTON MARTIN

V8 5.3. £11349

 

AUDI-NSU

80 LS 1500. £1898

80 GT 1600. £2237

100 GL 1900. £2597

100 Coupe S 1900. £3192

Ro80 "1900" £3531

 

AUSTIN

1100 2-dr. £945

1100 4-dr. £1028

1300 2-dr. £1174

1300 4-dr. £1174 (?!)

(heated rear window £14, auto £141)

1300 Countryman. £1292

Allegro 1100 DL 2-dr. £1287

Allegro 1300 SDL 2-dr. £1396

Allegro 1300 SDL 4-dr. £1445

Allegro 1500 SDL 4-dr. £1556

(inertia reel belts £18)

Allegro 1500 Sport 4-dr. £1636

Allegro 1750 Sport 4-dr. £1672

Allegro 1750HL. £1768

Maxi 1500. £1634

Maxi 1750. £1674

Maxi 1750HL. £1806

1800 DL. £1723

(auto £164)

2200 DL. £1923

 

BENTLEY

Corniche 2-dr 6.7. £17948

Corniche Convertible. £18775

T-Saloon. £13116

 

BMW

2002 2.0. £2650

2002 Turbo. £4221

520i. £3779

525 auto. £4270

3.0 SA. £5301

3.0 Si. £5301

3.0 CSA £7657

3.3L. £8443

 

BRISTOL

Type 411. £9816

 

BUICK

Riviera GS Coupe 7.5. £5123

 

CADILLAC

Eldorado Coupe 8.2. £8169

Brougham 8.2. £8766

 

CHEVROLET

Camaro 5.7. £4763

Monte Carlo 6.6. £4763

 

CHRYSLER

180. £2051

2-litre. £2356

(auto £188)

 

CHRYSLER (AUS) all rhd

Regal sedan 4.3. £2767

Regal Estate 4.3 £2969

Charger 5.2. £2868

C.H. 5.9. £3875

 

CITROEN

2CV6 £899

Dyane 6 602. £980

Ami Super Estate 1.0. £1192

GS Club 1200. £1550

GS Club Estate 1200. £1650

D Super 2200. £2393

DS 23. £2687

DS 23 Safari. £2900

DS 23 Pallas. £2986

SM 2.7. £6691

 

CRAYFORD

Marina 1.8. £2533

 

DAF

44DL Saloon 850. £1255

44DL Estate 850. £1295

66 Marathon 1300 £1630

66 Marathon 1300 Estate. £1730

66 Marathon 1300 Coupe. £1695

 

DAIMLER

Sovereign 4.2 lwb auto. £4801

Double-six lwb 5.3 auto. £5612

Double-six 2-dr 5.3 auto. £6131

Vanden Plas Double-six. £7334

 

DATSUN

100A 2-dr. £1140

100A 4-dr. £1199

100A estate. £1199

120Y 2-dr saloon. £1239

120Y 2-dr. £1320

120Y estate. £1430

120Y coupe. £1434

140J. £1479

160B 4-dr. £1546

160J SSS coupe. £1699

180B. £1618

180B Estate. £1719

180B SSS Coupe. £1895

200GL. £2072

200GL Coupe. £2421

240K GT. £2289

260C. £2555

260C Estate. £2595

(auto £178)

260Z Sports. £3096

260Z 2+2. £3670

 

DE TOMASO

Pantera 5.7. £7208

Pantera GTS 5.7. £8026

Deauville 5.7. £8828

 

FERRARI

Dino 308 3.0. £8340

365 GT4 2+2 4.4. £14266

Berlinetta Boxer 4.4. £16380

 

FIAT

850 Seat. £899

126 600. £853

127 DL 3-dr 900. £1229

128 Coupe 1300. £1670

124 basic 1200. £1356

124 Special T 1600. £1599

124 Coupe 1600. £2274

124 Coupe 1800. £2475

132 1800 GLS. £1989

(auto £140)

130 3200 4-dr. £4999

130 3200 Coupe. £7100 (!!)

X1/9 1300. £2450

 

FORD

Escort Mk1 1100 base 2-dr. £1227

Escort Mk1 1300 Sport 2-dr. £1392

Escort Mk1 1300 XL estate. £1503

Escort Mk1 1300E 2-dr. £1574

Escort Mk1 Mexico 1600. £1755

Escort Mk1 RS1600. £2394

Escort Mk1 RS2000. £1965

Cortina 1300 base 2-dr. £1383

Cortina 1600L 4-dr. £1518

Cortina 2000GT 2-dr. £1791

Cortina 2000E. £2060

Cortina 2000E Estate. £2255

(auto, except 1300, £103)

Capri Mk2 1300L. £1576

Capri Mk2 1600L. £1668

Capri Mk2 2000GT. £1963

Capri Mk2 3000GT. £2243

Capri Mk2 2000 Ghia. £2551

Capri Mk2 3000 Ghia. £2831

Capri Mk1 RS 3100. £2369

Consul 2000. £1849

Consul 2500. £1960

Consul 2500 Estate £2312

(auto £130)

Consul 3000GT. £2352

Granada 3000. £2596

Granada 3000 XL Estate. £2931

Granada 3000GXL. £3045

Granada 3000 Ghia. £3425

Granada 3000 Ghia Coupe. £3878

 

FORD (US)

Mustang II 2-dr hardtop 2.8. £2555

Mustang II 3-dr 2+2 2.8. £2625

Mustang II Ghia 2.8. £3251

Mustang II Mach 1 2.8. £3273

Cougar XR7 5.7. £4328

LTD Brougham 5.7. £4582

Mercury Marquis 7.5. £4677

Thunderbird 7.5. £6575

Continental Mk IV 7.5. £8066

Lincoln Continental 7.5. £8514

 

FORD (AUS) all rhd

Fairmont Sedan 5.0. £3702

Fairmont 2-dr Hardtop 5.0. £3771

Fairmont Station Wagon 5.0. £3840

Fairlane 5.7. £3725

Landau 2-dr 5.7. £5602

Landau Sedan 5.7. £6177

 

HILLMAN

Imp 875. £980

Avenger DL 4-dr 1300. £1308

Avenger S Estate HD 1600. £1644

Avenger GT 2-dr 1600. £1503

Avenger GLS 4-dr 1600. £1702

Hunter GT 1725. £1685

Hunter GL Estate 1725. £1890

(auto £146)

 

HONDA

Civic 2-dr 1200. £1154

(auto £70)

 

HUMBER

Sceptre 1725. £1866

Sceptre 1725 Estate. £2251

(auto £77)

 

JAGUAR

E-Type V12. £3743

E-Type V12 auto. £3937

XJ6 lwb 4.2 £4679

XJ6C 4.2 Coupe. £4811

XJ12 lwb 5.3. £5491

XJ12C 5.3 Coupe. £6009

 

JENSEN

Healey 2000. £2492

Interceptor III 7.2. £8334

Interceptor Convertible 7.2. £9683

 

LADA

Saloon 1200. £981

 

LAMBORGHINI

Urraco 2.5. £10259

Espada 3.9. £15009

Countach 3.9. £19504

 

LANCIA

Fulvia Coupe Rallye S2 1300. £2057

Beta 1400. £1668

Beta 1800 saloon. £2156

Beta 1600 Coupe. £2328

2000 Sedan. £2355

2000 FI. £2647

 

LOTUS

Elan +2S 130 1600. £3246

Europa Special 1600. £3274

Elite 502 2000. £6255 (!!)

 

MASERATI

Merak 2.9. £7821

Bora 4.7. £11473

 

MAZDA

818 1300. £1399

RX3 "2000" £1729

929 1800 estate. £1849

 

MERCEDES

230/4 2.3. £3825 (cheapest Mercedes listed)

240D Diesel. £4235

280E. £4886

280SE. £6743

350SE. £7831

350SL. £6868

450SL. £8442

450SLC Coupe. £10245

600LWB. £20574

 

MG

Midget 1500. £1351

MGB. £1847

MGBGT. £2101

MGBGT V8. £2795

 

MINI

850. £1027

1000. £1108

Clubman 1000. £1169

Clubman 1000 estate. £1254

(auto £153)

1275GT. £1293

 

MORGAN

4/4 1600. £1931

Plus 8 3500. £2683

 

MORRIS

Marina 1300 2-dr basic. £1327 (cheapest)

Marina 1800TC 4-dr. £1725 (most expensive)

1800. £1723

2200. £1923

 

MOSKVICH

412 1500 saloon. £745

412 1500 estate. £849

 

OLDSMOBILE

Toronada 7.5. £5316

 

OPEL

Manta SR Berlinetta 1900. £2097

Commodore GSE saloon 2.8 £4288

Commodore GSE Coupe 2.8. £4395

 

PANTHER

J72 4.2. £7749

De Ville 5.3. £17650

 

PEUGEOT

104 945. £1337

204 1100. £1486

204 Estate 1100. £1577

304 1300. £1613

304 Estate 1300. £1713

304 Cabriolet 1300. £1961

304 Coupe 1300. £2016

404 1600. £1797

404 diesel 2.0. £2114

504 2000. £2242

504 Family Estate 2000. £2491

504 diesel 1900. £2361

504 TI 2000. £2486

(auto £244)

 

PONTIAC

Firebird 7.5. £4763

 

PORSCHE

911 Coupe 2.7. £6750 (cheapest Porsche)

911S Targa Sportmatic 2.7. £8098

Carrera Coupe 2.7. £9000

 

RELIANT

Robin 750. £992

Robin Super 750. £1071

Scimitar GTE. £3194

(auto £210)

Scimitar GTE Overdrive. £3337

 

RENAULT

4 850. £997

5TL 950. £1239

6TL 1100. £1306

12TL 1300. £1443

16TL 1565. £1618

16TS 1565. £1818

16TX 1647. £2085

(auto £197)

15TL 1300. £1752

15TS 1565. £1906

17TL 1565. £2078

17 Gordini 1647. £2650

 

ROLLS ROYCE

Silver Shadow 6.7. £13995

Corniche coupe 6.7. £17948

Phantom VI 6.2. £20153

 

ROVER

2200SC. £2532

2200TC. £2682

2200 Auto. £2690

3500S. £3010

3500 auto. £3168

Range Rover 3.5. £3574

 

SAAB

96 V4 1500 saloon £1722

96 V4 1500 estate £1629

99 basic 2-dr 2000 £2186

99 L Combi Coupe 2000. £2616

99EMS 2000. £2625

 

SKODA

S100 1000. £834

S110R coupe 1100. £1079

 

SUNBEAM

Imp Sport 875. £1226

Rapier 1725. £2131

(auto £146)

Rapier H120 1725. £2427

 

TOYOTA

Celica 1600 5-speed. £2345

Crown Special 2600. £2717

Crown Special Estate 2600. £2724

 

TRIUMPH

Spitfire 1300. £1360

1500TC. £1668

Dolomite 1850. £1938

Dolomite Sprint. £2293

2000 saloon. £2349

2.5PI. £2675

2500TC estate. £2871

(auto £158)

TR6 hardtop 2500. £2236

Stag hardtop 3000. £3342

 

TVR

3000M. £2690

 

VANDEN PLAS

1500. £1950

 

VAUXHALL

Viva deluxe 2-dr 1256. £1357

Magnum 2300 4-dr £1823

Magnum 2300 coupe. £1843

Firenza coupe 2300 (droopsnoot). £2625

Victor 2300. £1923

Victor 2300 estate £2071

Ventora 3300. £2490

Ventora 3300 estate. £2622

 

VOLKSWAGEN

1200. £1089

1300. £1209

1303. £1309

Golf 2-dr 1100. £1294

Golf LS 4-dr 1500. £1654

(auto 1500 only, £117)

Scirocco coupe 1500. £2018

412LS Variant 1700. £1982

K70 1800. £1959

 

VOLVO

244 2.0. £2494

245 DL estate 2.0. £2790

(auto £179)

164E fi 2.9. £3386

(auto £89)

 

WARTBURG

1000 saloon. £811

estate. £923

 

WOLSELEY

Six 2200. £2146

[adw1977]

I have a December 1976 Motorist's Guide.

Quite a lot of inflation in 2 years:

 

Alfasud 1200 - £1899 (up 33%)

Audi 80 LS 1500 - £3333 (up 75%!)

[Negative Creep]

In today's money the Alfasud would be £15,812.29. I guess the modern equivalent would be the Mito, which on their website starts from £15.975. When you consider one has air con, ABS, loads of airbags, bluetooth etc and one rusted before it left the showroom, that doesn't seem like such a bad deal.

[sierraman]

Didn't know they sold the AMC Gremlin in the uk

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I love the anomalies stuff like this throws up.

For example the RS3100 Capri and RS1600 being cheaper than a Consul GT .

You could have a GS and a DS for the price of a BMW 520.

These days we forget that people bought things like Fiats and Alfas because they were desirable not cheap.

124 Coupe 1600 more expensive than a 3.0 Capri, for instance.

The fact an 1800 was cheaper than an HL Maxi.

No wonder the Allegro struggled to make an impact when it was sold alongside the best selling and much loved ADO16 , which was a lot cheaper.

 

Next instalment please.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Just noticed update

V12 E-Type less than a 520!!

I don't know why Ford even listed American cars in the UK , they obviously knew no one would buy them at those prices.

Why is the V12 only £800 extra on a saloon but £1200 more on a coupe?

Come to that why is the coupe body only £250 extra on the 4.2 but £500 more on a V12?

I suppose it's because the V12 C was top of the range and still a grand cheaper than a Fiat 130 Coupe or Citroen SM.

[adw1977]

No wonder the Allegro struggled to make an impact when it was sold alongside the best selling and much loved ADO16 , which was a lot cheaper.

 

ADO 16 1100 looks a bargain compared to the dearer and equally long in the tooth Hillman Imp.

 

And I now see that the 1100 is cheaper than a Mini 850. BL must have been keen to clear stocks!

[sierraman]

Seems laughable these days a Fiat coup being more expensive than a V12 Jag.

[3VOM]

I have a December 1976 Motorist's Guide.

Quite a lot of inflation in 2 years:

 

Early 70s had some of the worst inflation since WW2. I seem to remember you could hardly buy anything new for less than £2000 by about 1975. Five years earlier and stuff was below £1000. Also, re the Yanks, the exchange rates didn't do much for the UK prices in those days.

[JeeExEll]

Seems laughable these days a Fiat coup being more expensive than a V12 Jag.

Or a V12 E-type manual being less expensive new than a Granada Ghia coupe. And check out the new price of a Lotus Elite.

[sierraman]

What's a good V12 E-Type worth these days? Forty grand?

[JeeExEll]

In today's money the Alfasud would be £15,812.29. I guess the modern equivalent would be the Mito, which on their website starts from £15.975. When you consider one has air con, ABS, loads of airbags, bluetooth etc and one rusted before it left the showroom, that doesn't seem like such a bad deal.

I haven't checked the conversion factor but had a gut feeling "guesstimate" that prices had multiplied by maybe around 10 since the end of 1974. Your Alfasud calculation suggests it's around 11.1 which also feels about right.

 

Interesting when working forwards from 1974 prices and also when working backwards from current car prices.

[JeeExEll]

ADO 16 1100 looks a bargain compared to the dearer and equally long in the tooth Hillman Imp.

 

And I now see that the 1100 is cheaper than a Mini 850. BL must have been keen to clear stocks!

December 74 must have been right at the end of the ADO16s. Allegros were new in 1973. The last ADO16s are only listed in the Austin section, they're not mentioned in Morris at all. I was actually surprised to see them still listed. There are a couple of other basic Austin ADO16 specs listed in the mag, no mention of the 1300GT.

I can only vaguely remember seeing N-reg examples of the ADO16.

[Timewaster]

Ladas and Moskvitches really were cheap weren't they.

 

Lada 1200 2/3rds the price of the identical Fiat 124 1200.

 

Moskvitch 1500 half the price of a 1200 Citroen GS.

 

Bloody awful, but cheap.

[Uncle Jimmy]

The Triumph Stag is fairly pricey suprisingly, compared to its Triumph brethren anyway. Mercedes were very expensive back in those days. The Saab 96 was cheap,it was obsolete by then, carried on another 5 years nonetheless.

The Volvo 164 was about to go out of production, a bit cheaper than I'd remembered them being, especially for an injected model. The Fiats were very successful, part of why they were able to keep prices down I guess.

[carlo]

In today's money the Alfasud would be £15,812.29. I guess the modern equivalent would be the Mito, which on their website starts from £15.975. When you consider one has air con, ABS, loads of airbags, bluetooth etc and one rusted before it left the showroom, that doesn't seem like such a bad deal.

 

But perhaps when you consider one drives like an absolute dog (Mito), and the other was one of the best handling cars of its day (Alfasud), you may think otherwise.  Even while enjoying your bluetooth.

[quicksilver]

Some real surprises there and the V12 E-types do seem suspiciously cheap, no doubt because 1974 was right in the middle of the fuel crisis and nobody wanted them. I can't believe you could get an E-type for less than the most basic Mercedes and I know which one I'd prefer. The amount of Yank and Aussie stuff is also surprising and I can't imagine those pricey gas-guzzlers selling very well.

[adw1977]

December 74 must have been right at the end of the ADO16s. Allegros were new in 1973. The last ADO16s are only listed in the Austin section, they're not mentioned in Morris at all. I was actually surprised to see them still listed. There are a couple of other basic Austin ADO16 specs listed in the mag, no mention of the 1300GT.

I can only vaguely remember seeing N-reg examples of the ADO16.

I think the Morris versions of ADO16 were discontinued in 1971 when the Marina was launched, although the estates may have continued a bit longer until the Marina estate was introduced.

[warren t claim]

I remember when my maths teacher tried to explain depreciation to our class by saying that a car's value loses a certain percentage over the years. I put my hand up and said that a Range Rover cost two grand back in 1970 and is still worth the same today (1986) does that mean you could swap a 1970 model for a new one at the dealers? He had no answer and threw a board rubber at me.

[Walter White]

Thanks, I like that. Chrysler (Aus) Charger for me please.

In 1974 my dad had an ex demonstrator Fiat 128 4 door which was he told me one if the few small saloons with servo assisted brakes as standard.

Interesting year as EEC membership would have made European cars cheaper. How a price list from 1972 would compare could be interesting (to a number of car anoraks) to see.

Old motoring literature always throws up interesting stuff. I have lost hours reading the excellent collection of "Trigger's Retro Road Tests". I particularly liked the Fiat 128 scoring slightly better than the new mk1 Golf. That would have been around 1974. However, the Golf was tipped to be a very good car and the magazine had been lent a very early or pre production Golf with a below par gear change.

Back to 1974. What were people earning ? From a Dominic Sandbrook book I remember him quoting a Solihull Council gardener (apprenticeship completed) earning £40 a week in 1978.

From that £2000 might have been a typical salary in 1974. I might have been on the bus ????

[Negative Creep]

But perhaps when you consider one drives like an absolute dog (Mito), and the other was one of the best handling cars of its day (Alfasud), you may think otherwise.  Even while enjoying your bluetooth.

 

 

It's impossible to compare the two, but if it was a beautiful sunny day and I wanted to go for a drive then yes I'd pick the Sud. However if I needed something to get me to work on a cold and wet February morning, I'd want something with the equipment and reliability of the Mito.

[ProgRocker]

Wow, the Fiat 130s were very pricey! £5k for the saloon and over £7k for the coupé!

[Uncle Jimmy]

Wow, the Fiat 130s were very pricey! £5k for the saloon and over £7k for the coupé!

The coupe was quite a car, independent rear suspension, full instrumentation and if my memory serves me right a remote lever for the passenger door, should have been badged as a Lancia.

[ProgRocker]

The coupe was quite a car, independent rear suspension, full instrumentation and if my memory serves me right a remote lever for the passenger door, should have been badged as a Lancia.

 

Did it have a Ferrari engine as well?

[martc]

The Austin 1100 was also cheaper than the Lada 1200 (£945 vs £981). Would be interesting to see what equipment you got in these two particular models (radio, heated rear window etc) to see if the Austin really was a bargain.

[mk2_craig]

Different era with myriad European currencies, wonder what the pound to lira exchange rate was at the time.

[Walter White]

I found some earnings figures for 1974 as I was curious.

From Hansard.

1974 Average gross weekly earnings

Full time manual working men aged 21 & over £38.10

Full time manual working women aged 18 & over £19.10

 

From House of Commons library

1974 salary for teachers

Primary £2120

Secondary £2390

[JeeExEll]

^^ How does that compare against today's figures?

 

(X 11.1).

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Did it have a Ferrari engine as well?

NO!

Neither did the Fiat Dino.

Although everyone used to say they did when selling them in the 70's and 80's. There used to be a 130 Coupe around Central London in the mid 80's with Prancing Horse crests on the wings and wheel centres, like a Peugeot 406 coupe replica*

The Thema 8.32 and Stratos however, did have Ferrari engines

[Uncle Jimmy]

The V6 in the Fiat 130 was arguably it's weak point, fairly measly 165bhp from 3.2 litre in a very heavy GT.