A series of trucks based on the Uto platform had kept the Australian market at bay for nearly two decades, but by 1977 it was time for a new model. Duke already had the Nova engineered for right-hand-drive (it was their biggest model that did) so they chopped the roof off the Mk2 van, tuned the suspension and turned the Nova into a ute (above), calling it from then on the Wildlander Nova U140. It was not just that, though, which made the U140- its name was derived from its power output, with 142hp coming from an updated version of the Uto’s flat-plane V8. While Euro-spec engines were updated (adapted for unleaded fuel and fitted with catalytic converters), the Australian models continued to use the old versions until 1990.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Nova Mk3 was launched in 1978, with the 1300 gone and a new 2-litre being the top model. The Mk3 was also front-wheel-drive, and was Duke’s first FWD production car (they had made transverse-engined concepts before but usually stuck to a more familiar layout). Best of all, alongside the saloon was an estate version (below), which could swallow 720 litres of cargo.
