The Austin Drawing Office was the design and engineering department of the British Motor Corporation. From the early 1950s, the resulting projects of the office were known by the initials ADO. The numbers were assigned to vehicle and engineering projects, some resulting in production models. The ADO numbering system continued well beyond BMC's absorption into British Leyland, who continued to use the convention (not, however on any former Leyland Motors marques such as Rover or Triumph) until the late 1970s.
Contrary to popular belief, ADO does not stand for Amalgamated Drawing Office, the "amalgamation" referring back to the merger of Austin and Morris to form BMC in 1952.
XC project codes
The XC codes (eXperimental Car) were applied to projects headed by Alec Issagonis at Longbridge. All except XC9000 became production models.
XC9000 Forerunner to the XC9001; resembled a Citroën due to the lengthened wheelbase. Did not enter production. XC9001 Initially a front-drive XC9000, but restyled by Longbridge and Pininfarina. Renamed XC9005 in 1960. XC9002 BMC 1100/1300; initially a scaled-down XC9001, but restyled by Pininfarina. Known as ADO16 from around July 1959. XC9003 Mini, also known as ADO15. XC9005 BMC 1800/2200; refined and re-engined XC9001; known as ADO17 from 1960.