The Austin Maxi was originally picked from the showroom floor in 1969 to be prepared for the hardest ever Marathon Rally the world had ever seen – The 1970 Daily Mirror London-Mexico World Cup Rally.

With over 100 cars starting from London, only the first 50 to arrive in Lisbon would be shipped to South America to continue the rally, and at the end, less than 25 cars were to complete the rally and enter Mexico City.