Where did the name Landcrab originate?

The Austin 1800's nickname came about as a result of a casual comment by an Australian journalist, who when taking rally pictures from a helicopter through a telephoto lens remarked that the cars looked like "Land Crabs" as they cornered sideways. They were first called Post Office Land Crabs due to their red and white livery. On paper the 1800 falls into what Abingdon called the "Barge" category they were heavy – 1150kg kerb weight without the rally equipment and big both inside and out! But their saving grace was the much maligned Hydrolastic suspension combined with the strongest bodyshells ever made by Longbridge gave this middle management tourer a unique ability to travel quickly over rough rally roads.




www.landcrab.net/mainframes/main_rally.htm

There doesn't appear to be a definitive answer as to how and when this name originated. Some of the suggestions on the internet are of an insulting nature written by people who I guess had never driven or even sat inside a Landcrab.

I would hazard a guess that the name is most likely derived from the 1968 London Sydney Marathon when the cars got a lot of exposure in Australia where there are numerous of the other type of Landcrabs, some of which appear to have red bodies.

As far as travelling sideways is concerned, I will quote from an article in Motor w/e 2/12/1967 "Dunno about the brakes" where the BMC rally cars of the time were driven around a muddy field. The 1800 was driven by the late great Tony Fall who used the John Rhodes (mini racing expert) technique "of steering the car out of the bend before it was in it, the massive correction was applied with power full on, resulting in its body at an angle to the verge while wheels were more of less following the line of the curve". Ie crabbing, but the term was not used. Tony Fall exclaimed that you could not turn it over and this led to the journalist having to wait for Henry Liddon, Paul Easter and Paddy Hopkirk to take their turns to prove him wrong, which they didn't. The journalist concluded that the car was terrifying because of its enormity (how car size have changed) but in some ways it felt the safest and most secure four wheeled vehicle he had been in.

Any more suggestions? Perhaps we should ask David Attenborough!

David

I have found an earlier reference than the London to Sydney Marathon. In Motor magazine w/e 6 January 1968 there is a short piece on the rally 1800 where they have a drive of the car. Land Crab is used in the title and in the main copy. It says ".....and when the Land Crab as it was nicknamed, won the Danube rally there were a few surprised people".

I'll keep looking for anything earlier but coverage of the 1967 Danube rally may well reveal the first reference.

Nick

I've looked through the Australian magazine articles I have with the following results:

Moderm Motor, Feb 1968
" Don't let me put you off. In an 8500· mile three·week test trip over some of the best and worst roads in Australia,
that was the one and only time the 1800 looked like stopping. For the rest of those 8500 miles I was blessing, not cursing, Mr. Issigonis. His creation may look like a giant land crab, but it has the room and comfort of a super.limousine, the handling and point-to-point speed of a rally car. "

Wheels June 1968
"Body styling is the giant land crab variety, and could not be called handsome. Hawever, the 1800 has many compensating habits."


Tony