Morris Model History

United Kingdom · founded 1913

British volume car maker founded by William Morris at Cowley, Oxford — from the 1913 'Bullnose' Oxford and the best-selling Morris Minor to the Marina and Ital, the brand retired in 1984.

Models

Oxford

Morris's founding nameplate — from the 1913 'Bullnose' Oxford to the Pininfarina-styled Oxford VI, a name carried across nearly six decades, ending in 1971.

Saloon · 1913–1971
Cowley

The lower-priced 'no-frills' Bullnose Morris — the cheaper companion to the Oxford that drove Morris's volume in the 1920s.

Saloon · 1915–1931
Eight

The 1930s small Morris — closely following the Ford Model Y — whose huge sales restored Morris as Britain's largest car maker.

Saloon · 1935–1948
Minor

Alec Issigonis's much-loved post-war small car — the first British car to sell a million, built 1948–1971 across three series.

Economy car · 1948–1971
Mini-Minor

The Morris-badged original Mini (1959–1969) — Issigonis's transverse-engine, front-drive revolution, sold as the 'Morris Mini-Minor' before Mini became its own marque.

City car · 1959–1969
1100 / 1300

The Morris-badged BMC ADO16 — an Issigonis front-drive family car with Hydrolastic suspension, and the best-selling car in 1960s Britain.

Compact car · 1962–1971
Marina

British Leyland's conservative rear-drive family car (1971–1980) — a huge seller in its day, later a byword for mediocrity.

Saloon · 1971–1980
Ital

A 1980 facelift of the Marina — and the last car ever to wear the Morris badge, ending the marque in 1984.

Saloon · 1980–1984

Other makes