A1 Series 1956 - 1965
1956 Bogliq Bettong
Bettong Deluxe pictured
Powered exclusively by small push-rod inline fours, The Bettong was marketed as a second car and to women. The focus was upon ease of driving and value for money without sacrificing style. The engines powering the Bettong were modest with the 1.7 litre engine producing 42Kw, the 1.9 made 45Kw and the 2.1 produced 47Kw. This lack of outright horsepower was somewhat offset by the standard four speed manual gearbox and was the chief reason why there was no automatic gearbox option.
Model Range
Bogliq Bettong - Costs $1,299 and features the 1.7L engine. Service costs are $40.50 per year on average
Bettong Deluxe - Costs $1,399 and features the 1.9L engine. Servicing per year is $61.95
Bettong Exceed - Costs $1,599, features the 2.1L engine and the only Bettong factory fitted with chrome. Average yearly service costs are $73.10
1960 Bogliq Bettong Mk II
Bettong Mk II left, Deluxe Mk II centre and Exceed Mk II on the right
The 1960 Mk II update of the Bettong featured numerous improvements over the original car. The entire range now featured chrome trim and fittings, due to customer feedback, suspension settings were revised for improved comfort and on the limit stability. The engines were revised for improved fuel economy, reliability and response and the base model Bettong received a new, smaller capacity inline four. The two-tone paint was dropped for exclusive premium paint on up-spec models and the Exceed introduced a new three speed automatic gearbox.
Model Range
Bogliq Bettong - Costs $1,440; servicing costs $42.39 p.a. Has a 38Kw 1.6L inline four w/ a four speed manual gearbox
Bettong Deluxe - Costs $1,630, servicing costs $69.56 p.a. Has a 45Kw 1.9L inline four w/ a four speed manual gearbox
Bettong Exceed - Costs $1,795, servicing costs $85.57 p.a. Has a 48Kw 2.1L inline four w/ a three speed automatic gearbox
1960 Bogliq Burchell
The Burchell was a V6 powered spin-off of the Bettong
The push for intermediate sized cars caught Bogliq by surprise. The Bettong was large for the small car class but the engine wasn’t competitive against its rival’s six cylinder powerplants. The solution; install a six into the Bettong! The V6 configuration was chosen as a straight six of the right size wouldn’t fit. The Burchell was offered in a similar three tier model range as the Bettong, complete with Bettong styling, but the Burchell was exclusively offered with a three speed automatic. All variants were equiped with a 67Kw 2.9L V6.
Model Range
Bogliq Burchell - Costs $1,795, servicing costs $62.84 p.a. (orange car in pic)
Burchell Deluxe - Costs $1,870, servicing costs $83.63 p.a. (red car in pic)
Burchell Exceed - Costs $1,990, servicing costs $98.50 p.a. (brown car in pic)
Export Variants
Garcia
Bogliq needed to move extra cars when sales of the Bettong failed to meet expectations so export markets were sought for the car. Garcia was open for business so Bogliq contracted with a local entrepreneur to sell Bettongs there. Garcia had a market preference for sub 1.5L engines and the A series engine, powering all 1956 era Bettongs, couldn’t be shrunk far enough so a new engine with appropriate dimensions was designed and built. This engine would be completed in time for deliveries to start in 1958, have a swept capacity of 1.4L, with a larger version being used in the Mk II US delivered Bettong to amortise costs.
1958 - 1962 Export Bogliq Bettong
1958 model LHS, 1960 model RHS
The export A1 Bettong was only offered in base trim, only powered by a 1.4L inline four and came standard with a three speed manual which was geared for economy. Garcia was only a small market so costs were kept to a minimum and both models shared the same driveline with just sheetmetal being changed in line with the US model.
Model Range
1958 Bettong - Costs $1,355, servicing costs $39.92 p.a. (USD used for convenience and clarity)
1960 Bettong Mk II - Costs $1,405, servicing costs $41.61 p.a. (USD used for convenience and clarity)
1963 Bogliq Bettong Mk III & Burchell Mk II
Bettong and Burchell shared body styling to save development costs
By late 1961 it became apparent that the Bogliq model range was losing touch with what the market desired. Styling, once classy and handsome, was now being described as “frumpy”, “gramps-mobile” and “stale”. The engineers and designers at Bogliq R&D started on the next generation Bogliq line-up.
Unfortunately, the new range ran into development issues, along with arguements in upper management as to the conceptual vision the new products should embody. The decision was made to give the current cars a refresh, saving money where possible, plus provide valuable data on the new V8’s just about to debut without the white noise of a new model.
The Bettong and Burchell, already on a common chassis, saved money by sharing a common design that was simplified over the Mk II cars. The export cars to Garcia were also part of the program from the beginning so some minor improvements featured on the export cars became fully mainstream. Bogliq also brought onboard some performance variants to satisfy the desires of a growing market segment; the performance car buyer…
Model Range - Bettong III and Burchell II
Bettong
Mk III - $1,410. Servicing $43.91 (1.6L I4, 139Km/h, 22.1s 0-100, 37Kw, 11.1l/100)
Deluxe - $1,745. Servicing $80.02 (1.9L I4, 142Km/h, 21.6s 0-100, 45Kw, 13.9L/100)
Exceed - $2,075. Servicing $92.91 (2.1L I4, 142Km/h, 21.2s 0-100, 48Kw, 14L/100)
Export Mk III - $1,465, Servicing $44.01 (1.4L I4, 142Km/h, 21.9s 0-100, 38Kw, 11.7L/100)
Burchell
Mk II - $1,855. Servicing $65.90 (2.9L V6, 163Km/h, 16.1s 0-100, 67Kw, 15.1L/100)
Deluxe - $2,020. Servicing $90.50 (2.9L V6, 164Km/h, 16.5s 0-100Km/h, 67Kw, 15.4L/100)
Exceed - $2,295. Servicing $107.14 (2.9L V6, 166Km/h, 16.4s 0-100Km/h, 67Kw, 16.3L/100)
Performance Line-up
The AE variants proliferated circa 1963!!!
A coupe body style was added to drum up interest in a slew of new performance variants. They came in two tiers; the AE street racers and the milder +P. The AE moniker had proved very popular on the Bazooka so it was expanded to lesser models and the +P sttod for, literally, “Plus Performance”. These cars were improved handling models, with extra power and responsiveness, that were still decent road cars…
Model Range - Bettong III and Burchell II
Bettong
Mk III +P Sedan - $1,560. Servicing $58.10 (1.9L I4, 146Km/h, 16.1s 0-100, 49Kw, 13.7L/100)
Mk III +P Coupe - $1,560. Servicing $58.10 (1.9L I4, 146Km/h, 15.7s 0-100, 49Kw, 13.5L/100)
Mk III AE - $2,300. Servicing $110.95 (1.9L I4, 184Km/h, 11.1s 0-100, 80Kw, 15.3L/100, 98RON)
Burchell
Mk II +P Sedan - $1,860. Servicing $69.04 (3L V6, 181Km/h, 11.6s 0-100, 76Kw, 14.6L/100)
Mk II +P Coupe - $1,840. Servicing $68.60 (3L V6, 182Km/h, 11.3s 0-100, 76Kw, 14.5L/100)
Mk II AE - $2,810. Servicing $135.56 (4.2L V8, 221Km/h, 7.62s 0-100, 144Kw, 18.8L/100)