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It rolled off a Sydney production line in 1973 looking to make an impression, and nearly 45 years on Leyland's P76 continues to do just that.
Loved and loathed in equal measure, the unusually shaped car with the disproportionately large boot has long achieved cult status among collectors who say it is a vehicle without peer — or as the original sales pitch famously claimed "Anything but Average".
"They're a polarising car," said avid collector and former president of Leyland P76 Owners Club of WA, James Mentiplay.
"They elicit that 'love it or hate it' response like no other Australian car and they do have a reputation that proceeds them. I personally don't think is justified but mud tends to stick."
Introduced to the Australian market by British Leyland, it is thought the P76 was birthed to compete with the then-titans of industry like Ford, Holden and Valiant, while pitched to farmers with a preference for cars "with a bit of grunt up front and plenty of room at the back".
"The P76's boot is undeniably one of the main talking points and there's a combination of mythology and fact surrounding it," Mr Mentiplay told the ABC at a club meeting in Margaret River, while also demonstrating it's impressive capacity.
"As you can see it's very roomy and it was designed so the spare tyre could stand upright on the left hand side so it's easily accessible if the boot is full of luggage, a 44-gallon drum and bale of hay."
The first models were released in June 1973 to mixed reviews, with reports of engine breakdown and general unreliability hindering initial sales before gathering steam as it found its core market-regional Australia.
"Quite a large proportion of the P76s were sold in the regional areas, particularly so in Western Australia," Mr Mentiplay said.
"Farmers found them to meet their needs as it was capable of carrying as much luggage as a station wagon which came in handy for those long trips into the city with the family."
Cult status also achieved across the ditch
Fellow club member Jarrod told the ABC many of his earliest memories was created in the family P76 in New Zealand where it enjoyed a brief stint as one of the country's most popular cars.
"They were the perfect car for getting around in New Zealand," Jarrod said, as the heat of the midday sun began to play havoc with his P76's vinyl seats in which we were both seated.
"It was just a nice, well-made car that drove very well, handled nicely."
Quizzed on what they are like to drive, Jarrod explained "they are a bit of an acquired taste".
"There's a bit of body-roll in them and some people don't like that," he said.
"I quite like it. It gives them a bit of character."
However, Jarrod said the one thing they could always be relied on was their continued ability to elicit a response from onlookers.
"You still get quite a few people turning around to look at you, usually with a bit of pointing," Jarrod said.
"Every time you stop to have a chat with them they've always got a story about how good a car they were back in the day."
Short reign only adds to mystique
The P76 was manufactured in Australia for just 18 months, while it lasted three years in New Zealand, before succumbing to a global credit crisis and the increased popularity of Japanese imports.
"Given what was going on both here and overseas at the time, people were moving away from the large six-cylinder cars and going to smaller cars," Mr Mentiplay said.
"It was the perfect storm. Of everything that could go wrong for the car, it did go wrong.
"But look, here we are some 45 years later talking about it.
"That's the thing with the P76. You can't go anywhere without people wanting to come up to you and share their memories."
Topics: australian-touring-cars, history, clubs-and-associations, lifestyle-and-leisure, clubs, margaret-river-6285, australia