SUPER RARE FORCE 7 - The 70s Aussie Muscle Car that Never Was!
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- Опубліковано 17 лис 2020
- We Feature and Drive one of the 10 Leyland Force 7V remaining survivors!
Part 2 of the Ray Ikin collection.
The Force 7 coupe was announced in 1974 but only 10 pre-production coupes survived. By the time of the factory closure in 1974, one Force 7 was already in England for secret testing, Leyland Australia kept one example and finally donated that coupe to an Australian museum with some other components of the P76 production line and the remaining eight coupes were offered for sale to private buyers in an auction after the Leyland Aus shut down.
At Master of Machines, we love cars, in fact, we love anything with wheels or an engine, from American Muscle Cars to Australian Muscle Cars, Race Cars and Classic Cars of all kinds and even Barn Finds. If it's fast, powerful, restored or hidden away in hibernation then we'll cover it, and in most cases, we'll even drive them! - Авто та транспорт
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Unlike the Monaro, Charger and Falcon GT, the Force 7 was a hatchback. Had it gone into production, it would've been Australia's first large hatchback being a couple of years ahead of the Torana hatch which was somewhat smaller. I remember reading somewhere that the top of the line Force 7 would likely have been called the Tour de Force.
My dad Leo Smith was part of experimental at BMC, Leyland. We would have these cars with fibreglass disguises stay at our house before dad would go away to Charleville to test to destruction. I'm biased but he was a genius.
It may be a small V8, but we must not forget the BL 4.4L was related to the Rover 3.5L, which was related to the Buick alumunium small block V8. Our English cousins are still racing them successfully to this day on the track and on the water.
My Dad owned an identical blue Targa Florio and I got my Licence in it. It's just as he said better on fuel better handling and more comfortable than Fords, Holdens or Chryslers. On a long straight stretch of Road my Dad decided to overtake a Ford GT and an SLR 5000 doing a bit over 100 m.p.h. he was at 125 m.p.h when he passed them.
I can relate to your comment..I owned an orange P76 Executive V8..leather interior, factory sunroof..had less than 30,000 k's on it when I bought it...not ONE of my friends with Fords and Holdens, could catch me on the straights or winding mountain roads..it went like a rocket! Sadly, I ended up going through a messy divorce..was offered a really good sum of money for it..and I sold it! I have regretted selling that car ever since ( by the way, I was a firm Ford man..but the P76 V8 changed my opinions!)
My uncle had an immaculate White P76 Executive V8 Manual with the electric overdrive back in the eighties. Asked him to sell it to me if he ever sold it. He sold it to someone else anyway. Bastard.
Bummer!
No electric overdrive on those things
@@ldnwholesale8552 You may be right, my memory ain't what it was, maybe it'd been converted, no Executives came with manual trans either, but I remember a four speed floor shift with a small square sliding switch on top of the gearknob. Maybe it was another car...
My old man bought an executive V8 in 74 when I was a kid. We drove from Adelaide to Sydney and back a couple of times with out a hiccup. More room inside than a statesman or Fairlane, loved that car. I do remember him saying Repco had done some work on the heads and exhaust for surprising numbers. Just wonder how it may have gone at Bathurst. Having the best brakes in class, fuel economy and tyre wear. What it may have lacked in straight line speed it might have picked it up in the corners and fewer pit stops. Gess we will never know unless some comparison could be done.
Great collection Glenn.
OMG, Ray Ikin !
Former heavy-hitter with the Charger Car Club in Vic (hi Ray) and once builder and owner of a very nice turbocharged Hemi Charger. What a blast seeing him again.
I seriously considered buying a V8 P76 new. The ride and handling were impressive compared to the big three junkmobiles of the time. What finally turned me off buying? The terribly cheap plastics - particularly the dash and the switchgear; those completely let the car down IMO. Instead I bought a low-mileage P5B Rover coupé, which was still built with pre-Leyland quality.
My dad had two P76’s one being a green Targa Florio (1 of 30 I believe). Drove them both back in the day which was fun. My mum worked at Leyland assembly plant around the time they closed up and gave me a souvenir, a Force 7 boot badge which I still have :-).
May the Force 7V be with you always.
These cars may not be on most car enthusiast's short list but they were a significant part of Australia's automotive history...
even more so now that we don't even have an automotive industry - which is an absolute disgrace.
That Force 7 is as rare as rocking horse shit. Beautiful car.
Another great one Glenn.
That was a great drive. Nice to see and hear it and it looks different but impressive. It's interesting to think about the history of Leyland Australia in comparison to GMH. British Leyland in the UK ran out of money and shut down manufacturing in other countries, forcing Leyland Australia to close, a very sad story. General Motors in the USA went bankrupt and had a fire sale of it's assets, killing Saab, selling Vauxhall and Opel and cancelling the Zeta platform project which, effectively, meant the end of Holden, a national tragedy. We seem to be always at the mercy of overseas parent companies when it comes to our cars. Thank goodness there are collectors who preserve these cars for people to enjoy. Cheers
Gday Glenn here,s a weird fact
My dad use to work for leyland in the day, as a mechcanical engineer, he helped develop the p76 and the Force 7. Did not know they existed until 2 hours ago.
Yep he said all the Force 7 cars were all bright colors how cool is that.
As you said most car where crushed and in his words a few managed to escape.
Cheers
I had a P76, V8 and they were a magnificent and as you say Glenn, underrated car. So far ahead of their time.
I had an orange V8. loved it
Very true, they where underrated!
I was fortunate enough to be able to drive a Force7 in the late 80s. Bold as Brass yellow, V8, 4 speed manual. It was owned by a friend of mine.
I also had P76s, great car to drive.
L.O.L. Sorry to burst your bubble, Rickne76, my older brother worked in the Chrysler agents in Albany selling these things. You don't want to hear what he had to say about them. He felt so guilty every time he convinced some sucker to buy one. They were a piece of junk.
@@itchyvet
I knew quite a few people who had them from new and still love them
Chrysler agent?
@@ricknel76nelson54 Haha, there's a story in there somewhere... a Chrysler agent calling another manufacturer's car a piece of junk. 🤣😋
My stepfather had 3 p76models & a Marina as well the p76 one was a turquoise targa v8 @the others were 6cyl one brown one orange both had awa push button radios !! Priceless
We had one when I was a kid and when I got older I was the happy owner of two of them. Probably the best cars I've ever owned and that includes some modern Falcons.
They were light and went hard and were VERY good on fuel with the lightweight alloy motor.
I heard there were 72 bodies all up, most were crushed.
Have see this particular car in the flesh and its absolutely stunning. Ray is a fantastic bloke to boot too. Couldn't find a better custodian for this beautiful coupe!!
Believe me Glenn that little 4.4 goes like a cut cat with ported heads and a 4 barrell holley hanging on top. Helped a guy do one in NZ years ago. Great handling and instant acceleration. We had a few customers had them when I was in my apprenticeship, did a couple of engines as they used to crack piston skirts for some reason. And yes we had a farmer out the back who carried a 44 in his. Cheers Steve.
Those heads will never flow. They are econobox heads. The reason Mc Cormack had very special heads cast for the 5000. And even then was well underpowered
First car i ever bought, a mint condition P76 Executive V8 in Country Cream with 30 odd thousand miles on the clock back in the early 90's. My mates laughed at me (they had Holdens & Fords) but always wanted to go out in my car because it was (Anything, but Average) Sadly, trying to get any parts for it was my breaking point & had to succumb to being a Holden Bogan 🙊🙉🙈
My dad had two P76 V8 as Taxis in Caboolture QLD . He said that they where so much better then the HJ holden and the XC ford he had. They did not have taxi meters back then and went by distance . while chatting to the customer he would easy sit on over 100 mph on the Bribie island road with out them knowing.
Great machine. Thanks for an excellent video test. I have a photo I took of my Citroen GS beside a two level car transporter with 5 complete Force 7s in front of the Leyland factory at Zetland in March 1975.
I had started work that month with Edward Rushtons who were joint auctioneers with Mason Green selling of all the stock plus plant and machinery at the Zetland plant after it closed.
Interesting to see the few dollars paid for 3,000 P76 front carpets and 2,000 rear carpets, or P76 front and rear ash trays. Steering wheels. Etc.
My previous 2 weeks starting work at Rushtons was in Darwin 2 months after Cyclone Tracy helping with loss assessment work for owners.
Amazing times for a wide eyed 22 year old.
Great story! Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching.
What an amazing collection. Mr Ikin is a fabulous gentleman who was obviously born with a keen eye for cars.
I do hope you're going to show us more of his 'shed'
Agreed! Yes, our next episode on the weekend will feature his final segment. :-)
My Grand dad had a mission brown p76.
As a kid I thought nothing of it when he offered it to me when I was 15.... I said “no way”
When I got a few years older and into cars more I’ve been kicking my self ever since.
Crazy rare coupe, there was also a p76 station wagon -probably the rarest Australian car ever.
I dont think any p76 wagons were actually made, were there?
Two prototype wagons were constructed, one was crushed along with the Force 7s, the other survived.
@@1971gtrxu1 The remaining wagon still lives, I think there is a guy who owns it and also has a Force 7V !
..there was one in New Zealand ..a white wagon in the mid 90s always at car shows
At last. Somebody who actually likes these fantastic cars !
I remember sitting at the traffic lights on what was then the princes Hwy in Morwell in I think around the mid 70s and one of those two door P76s pulled up along side me. I knew how rare they were so I followed it for a while just to have a good look at it.
Thanks for posting Glenn that was so interesting.
Looking forward to the next one 👍👍👍
Where’s the Princess Highway? I tried looking it up.
@@laustinspeiss
The princes hwy travels east of Melbourne thru a number of towns including Warrigal , Moe, Morwell, Traralgon. Sale, Lakes entrance, all the way to the NSW border. In around the early 90s they built the Morwell bypass.
So the HWY No longer goes thru Morwell. 👍
@@Jim-ok9zi Princess ?
@@laustinspeiss
Your right I’ll blame google
Should have checked it 🤪
I swear he’s driving around loyang power station????
My Dad traded his HQ for a P76. As far as I was concerned as a lucky 16/17 year old who got to drive both there was no comparison; that P76 was heaps quicker, bigger, yet so agile. Fun at the roundabouts on a wet day too. Don't remember it understeering.... Taught me lots about throttle control. Pity the quality of assembly was such crap and the big two ran such a hate campaign during the fuel crisis that it never stood a chance to be fully developed.
Awesome car really, I had the privilege of driving a Force 7 in 1976, 2 door, Aluminium Alloy V8, 2 door hatch with White interior upholstery. It was designed I believe then to compete against Holden and Ford with Bathhurst as the target competition race. Managed to set up a lets say challenge against a Ford Interceptor Phase 4 and the F 7 slightly pipped the Ford, so who knows what or how well they would haveperformed if the whole Leyland Brand hadn't been shutdown.
My dad had a P76 V8 when I was a kid back in 1978. I remember that it was loud and broke down a lot
The Force 7 is absolutely beautiful.. Noticed there is more than a hint of the Austin Martin DBS in its styling too !
Aston Martin.... :)
@@sean640307 definately Austin Martin....(desert boot special?)
@@carrot595 I had a new P76 Super. It was no. 4 off the production line. It obviously got its compliance plate before the name was announced because it was registered as an Austin!
I saw one being driven a couple of weeks ago on the Pacific Hwy at Mount Colah.
It was one of those "I just saw a unicorn" moments.
gorgeous car, I've only seen one in real life and I've seen the white P76 wagon about 20 years ago
I once saw a Force 7 cruising on the freeway heading to Newcastle, same colour as the one in this vid. In the 80s I knew a bloke who had a dozen P76s in his dad's chook shed
Excellent information Glenn, great to have an enthusiast/owner to be unsure on this Force 7 - which means its VERY rare, particularly with the number produced.
I had a chance to see 2 of the Force 7s at a Shannons classic at Eastern Creek NSW about 4 or 5 years ago. I've loved them ever since. It's a shame more of these cars weren't made.
Great motor. Really good power to weight ratio. Originally made for Buick. Then manufactured under licence for use in Rover, Morgan, MG, Triumph etc. Increased in capacity for P76. Such a shame that Leyland was going broke at the time. Although it was never released, there was also a station wagon version of the P76. At least one was assembled.
Research that engine it was developed so much by rover gm tried to buy back the rights at least twice fairly quickly the look of the engine was the most similar thing about them
Really good
There was going to be a top of the range Force 7 called "Tour de Force" and some were partially built before the project was cancelled.
Saw one Force 7 in the wild. It was a Sunday in the summer of 1973/74 and it was on the expressway at the northern end of the Sydney Domain heading towards the bridge. Did get to drive a P76 because in a desperate bid to save Leyland the NSW government bought a large fleet of Minis, Marinas and P76s. As a car to drive it was way better than the Kingswoods, Falcons and Valiants that made up the department's fleet. But its finish left a lot to be desired and I exited with blood pouring from my finger after slicing it on a rough edge at the bottom of the dash. In those days the NSW government kept cars less than a year to profit from the resale. The state did not pay sales tax and a one year old car would get an auction price higher than was paid. So the two P76s were soon gone. Not so sad to lose were the two Marinas. 1500cc four cylinder autos, they were only car I ever drove that needed to kick down to second to get over the Harbour Bridge.
P76, probably better than any Ford or Holden in the day, love to own the beautiful blue Targa Florio, id drive it daily
Never new there was a two door I used to borrow my grandparents P76 Plenty of power and from memory we fitted ten people into it once Sorry Grandma !!!!
Worked at Repco Engine Development 73/74 when the engine was developed for F5000. 385 HP at 9,500 RPM. Campaigned in the green Charger raced by McCormack from Adelaide against Brocks Beast. Would have been a Bathurst winner for sure with that engine as a base for homologation.
I remember when I was a young teen seeing a P76 racing in the 70's at the Surfers Paradise International Raceway. (which doesn't exist any more.)
I believe that might have been Dazza Eastlake, some might know from the old days of channel 9
Beautiful ride. 👍
I think I might know this bloke....if he's in Western Victoria on a farm. I wired his shed up and enjoyed a day talking about his collection while we worked.
Glenny 👍 there’s a metallic brown force 7 at birdwood motor museum. Been there for many many years. The blue Florio looked nice too.
They have one of the original wooden bucks for the body too.
I must get down to Birdwood one day, I've heard it's great.
There was a yellow one there before the poo brown one!
@@GlennEverittMasterofMachines the collection has somewhat changed. Gmh took the ej prem - 500k Holden, the hk brougham-1 millionth Holden and the GTR-x. I believe the federal government has stopped gm from shipping the cars back to Detroit
@@GlennEverittMasterofMachines ... nearly bought one , the only thing i was told they had oil leaking problems,,,,,
Awesome and underrated car IMO. I seem to recall an article, possibly in Street Machine, about boring/and or stroking these things to be a 5 litre. From my (very limited) memory it made awesome torque.
Yes, that's right, they do run them out to 5 litre. In the 70's they also had a pretty serious F5000 open wheeler race engine program using this engine, it may have been with Repco.
@@GlennEverittMasterofMachines A five litre option was planned for the next P76 update model, as was a 3.3 litre V6 version and station wagon.
Pin pulled before this happened.
Needed more options to cover the market, especially fleets.
When I was a teenager I owned a P76. What a lovely car! It's the car that I miss the most. If It was possible I'd have another one in a heartbeat. Occasionally I have a look to see if any are for sale.
Me too. This is like reading my own story, but I have one that is very tatty and would cost me more than I can afford to restore
I used to put my six foot four surf board in the back seat and go surf down the Great Ocean Road. Loved that car.
Looked good.....sounded even better. Great review on a lost legend.
Looks like the car is living in the Valley!
Hi Glenn, I've recently been in Hay, out back NSW and passed an old servo ( still open) in the front yard was a brilliant green sandman .
It took me back .... Dam thing looked showroom new. There out there.
Keep looking and thanks for keeping the dream alive...
Thanks for sharing
Just noticed the Force 7 has a bit of Charger fake louver air intake behind the rear side window. Very sexy!
Was an apprentice at leyland at the time one of the sons of one of the bosses had a really hotted up a 6 Marina very very quick in a straight line used to kill chargers anyway he got hold of a gearbox that was supposed to go into a force seven it was a close ratio box and it was going to go into one of the force sevens for Bathurst so yes they were going to race them.
The guy I right…I’ve heard of them but never seen one. I’m a kid of that era and you were with a ford or a Holden guy…but I always wanted a P76, only 4 headlight front and floor shift…Ide donate my first born for one of those today
More than a hint of AMC AMX about it. BL was ruined by infighting and politics but there was real ingenuity behind the scenes, building innovative designs with little budget.
I remember that Mini King at Bankstown had Force 7 Owner Manuals. Wish I has grabbed a few.
He had every model P76, including the Force 7, a wagon . He even had mini utes
Someone has been reprinting them and selling copies.
Great car. There was a joke back in the 70's that the British never sold us the 'Bomb'. Some wag replied with "Yes they did. The P76!".
Truly thanks Glenn, I love the p76...
The greatest Leyland ever
Much better than any Pommy Leyland at the time...
I was there on the night of the auction. A sad day indeed.
In early '77 I saw one pull up outside the then milk bar in Sturt st South Melbourne near the corner of Nolan st (now Southbank Blvd). A whole pile of us apprentice technicians from what was then the Telecom Australia training school looked at it just goggle eyed!
There is a Force 7 in the Car Museum in Whiteman Park in Perth.
I worked at Mascot when Leyland closed and watched trucks going to Sims metal with loads of force 7s to be crushed
Hidden wipers looks cool
Awesome vid, cool car, bet it’s worth more than $6000. today!
The Unions killed it off. They made unrealistic demands and Leyland said no. The factory was shipped to Argentina and they made them there for years afterwards. Great cars. I had one in New Zealand.
Forget the Torana , this was the first true hatchback in Straya
That might be the Australian only Morris Nomad. Close to the first hatchback in the world. 1970. Only the Autobianchi from the Fiat offshoot may have been ahead of the Nomad :
ua-cam.com/video/TB-r2JTsTmk/v-deo.html
I hated them before i watched this clip, now i change my mind and have respect for these cars now, even though I wouldn't get one
The P38 was the 6cyl version. I owned a P76 V8, the engine was brilliant but the body was rusted pretty bad, which was the major problem with them. There use to be a green Force 7 in the industrial area in condell park near bankstown airport NSW. I also saw a yellow one at Albion Park air show obout 2017
Thank you. Love your work.
Thanks for watching!
Beautiful cars they were remember them well
Hatchback boot 👍
So good!
Great story, very nice rims on her also.. cheers.
Very interesting and educational
P76, was easily best car of its era.
I always liked the P76 Targa Floria edition
I saw a green one in a Chrysler parts show room in Thornbury Victoria, It looked fabulous the asking price was $20k but you couldn't drive it on the street.
i know these are rare but its the four door sedan that does it for me, awesome p76
Back in the 70s when Leyland pulled the pin Mini king ( wrecker's) in western Sydney had a force 7 and a heap of parts & panel's for that and a wagon
Correct I remember that as well
That is where I got my Force 7 manual from
@@Lepusrabbit
Is Mini King still there?
@@rodneydolman1 Unknown as I have been in Victoria for 20 years
Good memories
I remember my old man trading in his 1969 Mercury Cyclone for a P76. I thought he'd completely lost the plot.
Was going to say a orange force 7 was on occasion seen around Coolangatta and south gold Coast, then the comment "I flew up to Coolangatta " must be the one and same. Friends family had 2 P76s 1 was amazing, well built , xdrove and rode, never a problem, the other was the opposite, body and interior was poorly. Electrical faults. They bought another a few years later in the 90s, very cheap, a nice 1 owner car, but not maintained, and fixed it up and offered it to me. I loved it, and the factory green looked great. I like odd or eccentric bikes like BMW's and moto Guzzi, my ex wife wanted a commodore, according to her, my motoring was in my bum!
Outstanding !
A L L. of ......T. H. I. S. . . . .!
YOU DO THIS SOOOOO EW
WELL. ! THK U
EDUCATION 101. !
Yeah I agree, I love Glenn's vids
This is probably the best car with the Leyland name unlike in the UK
Excellent video well done.
I use to sell p76’s in 1974 for UK motors fantastic cars particularly the V8 unfortunately theywerepoorly made their quality assurance in factory was poor. If memory serves me correctly Leyland was having a significant union problem and we will never know what went on behind the scenes shame fantastic car.
drove one to use in the film Trojan Warrior, P76 was actually written into the script.
Great car to drive, just floated! better styling than the Holdens but not as good as a Valiant.
I do believe there where some build quality issues and poor tooling for the panels!
Seen a Force 7 in 1975 crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge, had only just read about it in a car mag.
I still remember looking at the P76 as a young boy in the 70s and wondering just how many people approved the design...
British Leyland could've learned alot from Australian Leyland at the time, though we had the Rover 3500 , which was a good looking car for a 4 door The Force 7 would've been a good
Car if it could've been imported over here in the UK
Very interesting video thanks. I had only ever seen pictures of the F7. To see one in the flesh is amazing. That guy was so astute and lucky to come across all these rare beauties. I am rather disappointed though that there was virtually no discussion about the cars themselves. Plenty of surrounding history and the engine mentioned several times, McPherson struts and rack & pinion steering but just a general overview and no details on anything like the engine design itself (OHV OHC?), gearbox, brakes (4WDB's on the Targa?) dash and interior area just a quick glance. Trim and comfort levels? Also no talk of how it felt driving it. What was the steering like? The brakes? Wheels and tyres? How was it more advanced than it's competition? The hidden wipers would have been a good start. How did it feel on the road? What type of auto did they use and how did it feel? Power, torque, responsiveness, vehicle weight in comparison to the Big Three? I'm sure many thousands of Aust car enthusiasts would have liked a lot more detail in this video.
Also not mentioned was one of the main downfalls of the P76. It had an atrocious build quality. I remember reading reports of cars just 6 months old with poorly fitted trim falling off and the stick-on wood-grain on the dash just not put on straight or curling up in our sun; instruments problems, fuel gauge faulty reading, water leaking problems - all indications of a rushed design and execution. These are things that, no matter how brilliant the design - often last as a sour taste for decades in the minds of people.
Thanks for reading.
I'd love to be able to put such a car through it's paces to explore it's limits but in reality a careful drive is all we can perform in such rare, expensive and irreplaceable cars, and I'd personally enjoy going much more in-depth as you've mentioned. I enjoyed watching Peter Wherrett's show when I was a boy and he did awesome reviews, just as you have mentioned, exploring the cars limits too. Our biggest challenge is creating content that has broad appeal across many types of enthusiasts, so to achieve high viewer retention across a short and sharp duration, effectively to appease UA-cam and their algorithm, so they allow more to see our content. It's a fine line. Thanks for watching though, all feedback is appreciated, and in many cases we can pull from that feedback here and there with a view to applying certain elements where possible and practical within our production time restraints, being a self funded operation.
Went to the auction at Sydney, saw all 10!
Wow! Not too many people can say that! History in the making there. Thanks for sharing.
That dark blue P76 with the Aunger alloys isn't a bad looking car at all. It has a really nice aggressive stance. Clearly more than just a car to transport 44's from A to B.
That would have been a contender on the track I would love to see see it happening I'm sure you can do it
i worked in a car yard in the mid-80s,,we traded a Targa Florio in mint condition for 600 bucks-who knew..
It's worth noting that after a lot of trial and error, John McCormack successfully ran an enlarged version of the Leyland V8 in his McLaren M23 Formula 5000. It proved that the potential was there for the Force 7 to compete in the ATCC and at Bathurst, and they would have been able to get some serious tyres under those guards. I think that it could have been a winner.
I saw all 10 at the '75 Sydney Motor Show very rare site, the thing that went a long way to killing the P76 range and Leyland was that at the time the union was in a long running fight with the company. The workers were ruining the cars reputation by hanging steel nuts on lengths of string and wire in door panels etc so that they would rattle, thereby giving the impression that the cars were poorly built and were being taken back to the dealerships or sold off cheaply
I went to that motor show and saw the cars too. They were selling bits and pieces from the left over parts bin. I bought a chrome "Force 7" badge that was supposed to be attached to a car. I still have it.
Unions killed Australia.
I remember the push for the P76 and an advert showing a bunch of P76 cars driving around. I wasn't happy with its looks compared with the Mustang of Steve McQueen. It seemed on the bloated side. I never knew about the Force 7. That model is impressive in the looks department.
I went to a car auction in Sydney in about 1973. There were quite a number of these cars being auctioned off. I think only a few were road worthy. The remainder had been put together but were advertised as being not suitable for the road. Collectors swooped on them. The idea was that Leyland were just getting rid of what bodies and parts they had for the Force 7.