Morris Marshal (1957 - 1960)

The Morris Marshal was an Australia-only variant, built by BMC Australia rather than at Cowley or Longbridge, and it never wore Farina styling — it was based on the earlier Austin A90/A95 Westminster shape. 

By the mid-1950s, BMC Australia's Morris dealers had a problem: the big six-cylinder Morris Isis had been dropped in 1958, leaving them with nothing to compete against Holden and Ford in the large-family-car class. Austin dealers, meanwhile, had the six-cylinder Austin A95 Westminster. BMC Australia's answer was simple — badge-engineer the A95 as a Morris, giving the Morris network its own six-cylinder contender without the expense of developing a new car.

The result, launched in late 1957, was the Marshal. Under the skin it was almost identical to the Austin A95 Westminster, itself a development of the Austin A90, but Australian stylists gave it a number of distinguishing touches: a sloping bonnet, a new front grille carrying a boomerang motif, small badges styled on a field marshal's insignia (hence the name), and aluminium "comet" flashes running along each flank. Inside, the Marshal was trimmed with a bench front seat, giving it 5/6-seater capacity and a slightly less austere cabin than some of its BMC Australia stablemates.

Contemporary road testers found the Marshal smooth, quiet and quick for its class, with well-chosen gear ratios that let drivers make good progress without needing to use the lever much. Criticism centred on the drum brakes, which were reported to fade under sustained hard use. Overall it was seen as a car of real character — distinct enough from the closely related A95 that buyers were advised to try both before choosing.

The Marshal was offered as a four-door saloon and as a five-door Traveller estate, with a small number of panel vans also produced. It sold in far smaller numbers than the Austin-badged A95, and when BMC Australia rationalised its dealer network in the early 1960s, the Morris marque locally was confined to smaller cars while Austin kept the large models — bringing the six-cylinder Morris line in Australia to a permanent end.

Morris Marshal Specification

Produced: BMC Australia (Victoria Park, Sydney), 1957-1960. 1,341 saloons, 54 Traveller estates and 30 panel vans built.

Engine and transmission: BMC C-Series, 2,639cc, 79 x 89mm, six-cylinder OHV; compression ratio 7.0:1; approx. 87-90bhp; 4-speed manual gearbox, column gear-change, bench front seat.

Chassis: As Austin A90/A95 Westminster; separate chassis with coil-and-wishbone independent front suspension, live rear axle on semi-elliptic springs.

Distinguishing features from Austin A95 Westminster: New front grille with boomerang motif, field-marshal-style badge insignia, sloping bonnet line, aluminium "comet" flashes along the body sides, bench front seat as standard.

Launch Price: £1,458 (1957), slightly above the equivalent Austin A95 Westminster.

Derivatives: Four-door saloon; five-door Traveller estate; small numbers of panel vans.

Trivia fact: The Marshal was created to give Morris dealers in Australia a six-cylinder car after the Morris Isis was withdrawn in 1958 — a car that was never sold, or even conceived, in Britain. Wheels magazine road-tested it in January 1958 and praised its distinctive styling touches over the closely related A95.

Fate: Discontinued in 1960 without direct replacement. BMC Australia subsequently confined the Morris marque to smaller models, ending the line of six-cylinder Morris cars in Australia for good.

Source: Wolseley Car Club (NSW); Austin Motor Vehicle Club of Queensland; AROnline

Note: as an Australia-only model built well outside the Farina B-Series family this site otherwise covers, some figures above (particularly power output) are approximate — original Australian brochure/road-test data is scarcer than for the UK-market cars.