Jim Jarron's Motoring Pages

There was to have been a two door coupe version of the P76, known as the Force 7.  By the time Leyland Australia collapsed, 56 of the coupes had been built.  The Force 7 was a sporty hatchback with a huge load area and fold down rear seat.  All but 10 of the coupes were scrapped when Leyland Australia folded.  The others were stripped of their mechanical components and the body shells were destroyed.

One was sent to Leyland in the UK for testing (and was used for a time by Lord Stokes) and another went to the Birdwood Mill Museum in South Australia.  The remaining eight were auctioned to the public in 1975.

The survivinging Force 7’s are V8’s and are badged as a Force 7V.  There were to have been three models:

• Force 7 - The base model with a six cylinder engine and three speed column shift and would have been available with a large range of optional extras;
• Force 7V - The V8 version with a four speed floor change.  The cars would have had alloy wheels and possibly other extras fitted.
• Tour de Force – The top of the range model with a luxurious interior, V8 and automatic transmission.

The boot space was 13.17 cubic feet with the seat up or, with the seat down 35.69 cubic feet, although there was a high sill, over which luggage had to be lifted.  By comparison, the P76 had a capacity of 19.7 cubic feet.

For a two door coupe there was a surprising amount of room inside.  The only dimension which suffered in comparison to the P76 was headroom and even then there was enough room for adults in the rear.  Leg and knee room were almost the same as the P76.

In a road test of the Force 7V (conducted after it was announced that the car would not enter production), WHEELS magazine said that “Force 7V really would have been a two-door which looked after rear seat passengers as well as its sister sedan”, although the magazine article went on to say that “Entry and exit to the rear weren't as good as they should have been, however.  The doors were exceptionally wide at 1168 mm but only the seat back folded forward, and if the front seats were right back there was only a very narrow gap between the car body and the seat.”