The Princess is a
large family car
The D-segment is the 4th category of the Euro Car Segment, European segments for passenger cars, and is described as "large cars".
It is equivalent to the Euro NCAP "large family car" size class, and the present-day definition of the mid-size ...
produced in the United Kingdom by the Austin-Morris division of
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
from 1975 until 1981 (1982 in New Zealand). The car inherited a
front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longit ...
/
transverse engine
A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the direction of travel. Many modern front-wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration. Most rear-wheel drive vehicles ...
configuration from its predecessor, the
Austin/Morris 1800 range. This was still unusual in Europe for family cars of this type and gave the Princess a cabin space advantage when compared with similarly sized cars from competing manufacturers.
The car, which had the design code ADO71, was originally marketed as the
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
/
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
/
Wolseley 18–22 series. Ahead of the
October 1975 London Motor Show the range was rebranded "Princess". This was effectively a new
marque
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
created by British Leyland, although the "Princess" name had previously been used for the
Austin Princess
The Austin Princess is a series of large luxury cars that were made by Austin and its subsidiary Vanden Plas from 1947 to 1968. The cars were also marketed under the Princess and Vanden Plas marque names.
The Princess name was also used as fo ...
limousine from 1947 to 1956, and the
Vanden Plas Princess
The Princess is a version of the Austin A99 Westminster produced by BMC from 1959 to 1968, latterly under the Vanden Plas marque.
The model was launched in October 1959 under the name Princess 3-litre. From July 1960, these vehicles bore the ...
. The Princess is often referred to, incorrectly, as the Austin Princess. Although this name was not used in the UK market, it was used in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The car was later revamped as the
Austin Ambassador
The Austin Ambassador is a large family car that was introduced by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland in March 1982. The vehicle was a heavily updated version of the Princess, a saloon car that had lacked a hatchback. Only the ...
, a hatchback, which was produced from 1981 until 1984 and only available in Britain and Ireland.
Princess sales, although initially strong, were tailing off by the end of the 1970s. Some competitors had added a
fifth door
Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five.
Fifth or The Fifth may refer to:
* Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth"
* Fifth column, a political term
* Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...
as a "hatchback", something the Princess lacked (though
Harris Mann
Harris Mann (born April 1938) is a British car designer. He took over from Roy Haynes as chief stylist at British Leyland in 1970.
Biography
Mann was born in London in 1938, and attended engineering school in Westminster. His automotive des ...
originally designed the car with a hatch) and the large family car sector fell victim to a poor economic climate further compounded by the
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
oil crisis. The Princess was somewhere between the
Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
and
Ford Granada in terms of size, being designed to compete with more expensive versions of the Cortina as well as entry-level versions of the Granada.
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
restyled the Princess with a boot so that it would not compete with their existing
SD1 and
Maxi designs.
The limousine version was devised in late 1975 and produced on a small scale by Woodall Nicholson. Based on the top of the range Princess 2200 HLS, stretched at the B-pillar to allow more room for the rear compartment, the front door remained unchanged, making the car look oddly proportioned from the side. The Leyland Princess 2200 HLS Limousine was produced between 1975 and 1979, and was mostly sold to local borough councils (as a mayoral car) and to the funeral sector. Princess limousine seemed to be an alternative to a Daimler DS420 that local government used in the mid 70s as Daimlers were much more expensive.
Total production amounted to 224,942 units, with most examples scrapped by the 1990s.
Launch of the Austin / Morris / Wolseley 18–22 series
![Wolseley saloon 1975](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Wolseley_saloon_1975.jpg)
The car was launched on 26 March 1975 as the 18–22 series, "the car that has got it all together". The number designation 18–22 referred to the engine sizes available carried forward from the 1800 cc and 2200 cc
BMC B-series-engined
BMC ADO 17 "Landcrab". For the first six months of production three badge-engineered versions were produced:
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
,
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
and
Wolseley. The Austin model bore the original "design intent", featuring trapezoidal headlights and a simple horizontally-vaned grille with added "Austin" script to the lower right side. The Morris and Wolseley cars bonnets had a raised "hump" permitting a larger, styled grille for each model; the Morris one was a simple chrome rectangle with "Morris" script in the lower right-hand corner, while Wolseleys had a chrome grille with the traditional illuminated Wolseley badge in the middle, with narrower vertical bars either side set back within the chromed surround. Both of these versions had four round headlights, and the Wolseley model was only available with the six-cylinder engine and luxury
velour
Velour, occasionally velours, is a plush, knitted fabric or textile similar to velvet or velveteen. It is usually made from cotton, but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester. Often, it contains a percentage of elastane, ...
trim. Apart from their bonnet and headlamp designs, and of course their badging, the Austin and Morris models were virtually identical.
Models
Styling
The exterior styling was distinctive, innovative, and somewhat divisive. "The Wedge", as it was often nicknamed, was indeed very wedge-shaped; the styling was all angles and slanting panels. This was very much a 1970s design as created by Italian stylists (see
Lamborghini Countach
The Lamborghini Countach () is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini from 1974 until 1990. It is one of the many exotic designs developed by Italian design house Bertone, wh ...
for example). Within BL the car was often referred to as "The Anteater". The designer,
Harris Mann
Harris Mann (born April 1938) is a British car designer. He took over from Roy Haynes as chief stylist at British Leyland in 1970.
Biography
Mann was born in London in 1938, and attended engineering school in Westminster. His automotive des ...
, was also responsible for the
Triumph TR7
The Triumph TR7 is a sports car manufactured in the United Kingdom from September 1974 to October 1981 by British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), which changed its name to British Leyland (BL) in 1975. The car was launched in the United State ...
, another wedge-shaped car, as was his original design for the
Austin Allegro
The Austin Allegro is a small family car that was manufactured by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1973 until 1982. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent. The Al ...
, although by the time that design had been readied for production nearly all the angular styling features had been lost.
The Princess, unlike the Allegro, made it to regular production relatively unscathed and unaltered from Harris's original plan. The bonnet (hood) was a little higher, to allow for taller engines, but the biggest change from Harris's design involved the rear. Harris had intended the design to be a five-door
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
, but management decided that the
Austin Maxi
The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. It was the first British five-door hatchback.
British Leyland built and sold the Maxi alongside the 1971 ...
should be the only hatchback in the range, making that its unique selling point, and besides, they thought the Princess's prospective buyers would dislike a hatchback – despite the fact that in the Rover division the larger
Rover SD1
The Rover SD1 is both the code name and eventual production name given to a series of executive cars built by the Specialist Division (later the ''Jaguar-Rover-Triumph'' division) of British Leyland (BL), under the Rover marque. It was produced ...
was being given a hatchback design. Consequently, the Princess received fixed rear glass and a separate boot, belying its appearance. An estate version was also proposed, but never reached production.
Mechanical details
The base engine fitted was the 1798 cc
B-series pushrod
A valvetrain or valve train is a mechanical system that controls the operation of the intake and exhaust valves in an internal combustion engine. The intake valves control the flow of air/fuel mixture (or air alone for direct-injected engines) ...
straight-4
A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...
. The lay-out closely followed that of the
predecessor model, but access to the alternator/water pump was greatly improved by exploiting the car's longer nose to fit a front-mounted radiator.
The basic design of the engine dated back to 1947 and the unit with a claimed output of 84 bhp
[ was notably lacking in power, although torque was reasonable. The larger engine, fitted to upper models in the range, was a 2227 cc ]E-series E series may refer to:
* BMC E-series engine, a series of automobile engines
* Electronic E series of preferred numbers, a series of preferred values for electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, zener diodes
* Entwicklung seri ...
SOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
straight-6
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bal ...
. This was very smooth and a much more modern engine, with a published output figure of 110 bhp,[ but was still not hugely powerful. The Princess was a big car, and the engine choice gave lacklustre performance, not helped by the provision of only a 4-speed manual gearbox (a ]Borg-Warner
BorgWarner Inc. is an American automotive supplier headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The company maintains production facilities and technical systems at 93 sites (as of June 6, 2022) in 22 countries worldwide and has around 49,000 employ ...
automatic transmission was an option). Suspension used BL's Hydragas
Hydrolastic is a type of space-efficient automotive suspension system used in many cars produced by British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successor companies.
Invented by British rubber engineer Alex Moulton, and first used on the 1962 BMC pr ...
system.
Performance and price comparison
A six-cylinder car was road tested by Britain's '' Autocar'' magazine in March 1975 at the time of the model's launch. It recorded a maximum speed of 104 mph (167 km/h) and reached 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standing start in 13.5 seconds.[ The top speed was marginally lower than the 109 mph (175 km/h) achieved by a recently tested Ford Consul 2500 L and a full three seconds slower to 60 mph than the Ford which managed the standing start test in just 10.4 seconds. The 2200 also fell slightly behind the Fiat 132GLS 1800 in these comparisons.][ At the same time its overall fuel consumption at 20.7 mpg was usefully superior to the Ford's 18.1 mpg.][ The lighter Fiat was more frugal with fuel than either of the other two.][ On price, the Austin's domestic market recommended retail prices including taxes of £2,424 was significantly higher than the £2,221 charged for the Ford.][
Although its performance figures on paper were a little underwhelming, the testers were impressed with the roominess and roadholding of the Austin 2200.][ They found it quiet and comfortable, the driving position in particular representing a vast improvement over the car's predecessor.][ They mentioned in passing that the boot/trunk on the test car "leaked slightly", but did not labour the point.][
The Princess was similar in size to the ]Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
, and was marketed by British Leyland as a rival to the larger engined versions of the Cortina, as well as smaller engined versions of the Ford Granada.
Princess
After the publication of the Ryder Report in March 1975, one of its key recommendations was to consolidate the many British Leyland brands into a single "Leyland Cars" organisation with a common dealer network for all marques and models. By September 1975, the process of unifying Austin and Morris dealerships was advanced sufficiently, while the Wolseley marque was to be abandoned. Thus the policy of selling seven 18–22 series models under three different marques was changed and the range was reduced to four models all sold under the Princess name. All cars now used the Austin versions flat bonnet and horizontally-vaned grille, a crown badge was affixed to the point of the bonnet and the script word "Princess" was affixed to the grille replacing the "Austin" script, the thick vinyl-clad C-pillar
The pillars on a car with permanent roof body style (such as four-door sedans) are the vertical or nearly vertical supports of its window area or greenhouse—designated respectively as the ''A, B, C'' and (in larger cars such as 4-door stat ...
s and the boot. The 1800 models bore the twin headlights, with the 2200 models sporting the wedge-shaped headlights Harris Mann had designed the car to be seen with.
Build quality of the Princess was affected by poor quality control and constant industrial disputes; it gained a reputation for unreliability it could never shake off, even though quality improved in later years. The styling, praised upon introduction, was soon labelled "ugly". To quote a phrase in '' Parker's Car Price Guide'' from the 1990s, "an early critic suggested that the people responsible for designing the front and rear of the car were not speaking to one another".
Models
Princess 2
In July 1978, the Princess was given a revamp and renamed the Princess 2. The main change was the replacement of the 1800 cc B-series engine with the new O-series engine. The new engine was offered in two sizes: 1695 cc and 1993 cc. Since there was an 1800 cc tax barrier for company cars at the time, the 1700 cc O-series engine was developed to take advantage of that, whilst the 2000 cc engine was developed for the private motorists who wanted something different from the hugely popular Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
. The L and HL models had the twin headlamps and the HLS models got the trapezoids. The car had perhaps reached its pinnacle when the prestigious ''Motoring Which'' publication described the Princess 2200HLS automatic model as "An excellent car, marred only by poor reliability".
Production of the Princess ceased in November 1981.
The basic Princess design lived on in revised form until 1984 as the Austin Ambassador
The Austin Ambassador is a large family car that was introduced by the Austin Rover Group subsidiary of British Leyland in March 1982. The vehicle was a heavily updated version of the Princess, a saloon car that had lacked a hatchback. Only the ...
.[Martin Lewis, A-Z of Cars of the 1980s, 1994, Page 19]
Models
New Zealand – Austin Princess
In New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
the car was officially sold as the Austin Princess. Assembled in the New Zealand Motor Corporation
The New Zealand Motor Corporation was the New Zealand representative, importer, distributor and retailer of a number of the best-known British automobiles. It carried out the same functions for a wide range of manufacturers of industrial machin ...
's plant in Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, it was introduced to the market in 1977 and utilized the Austin 1800 B-series engine.
In early 1979 the car was re-engined with the BL O-series OHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
motor. Due to a conflict of the Austin Princess and Morris Marina competing in the same market sector in New Zealand, the Princess got a 2.0 L unit mounted transversely, while the Marina (which was face-lifted at that time and renamed in NZ as "Morris 1700") received the 1.7 L unit mounted longitudinally.
Being competitively priced, the Princess proved a popular car on the New Zealand market, and proved to be a good alternative to the rear-wheel-drive Ford Cortina
The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car that was built initially by Ford of Britain, and then Ford of Europe in various guises from 1962 to 1982, and was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s.
The Cortina was produced in fi ...
, Mitsubishi Sigma
Mitsubishi Sigma is a model name that was used by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors between 1976 and 1996. Mitsubishi has utilized the "Sigma" name on several different vehicles based on Mitsubishi Galant and Mitsubishi Dia ...
and Holden Commodore
The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...
ranges.
Local production of the car ended in June 1982, when the completely knocked-down kits of the car had been used up. The Austin Princess R, the last model sold there, was still on new-car price lists in 1983, and was available only in black to commemorate the end of local assembly of a long line of Austin cars.
Torcars Princess Estate
The Princess designer Harris Mann intended it to be a hatchback and Torcars created a conversion designed to meet the growing demand for fifth-door saloons which was dealer approved. The Torcars Princess Estate was available in 1800 or 2200 engine sizes, with manual or automatic gearboxes.
The original sleek wedge profile was completely retained but the tailgate revealed an enormous loadspace accessible by probably the largest estate car aperture available on any European car at the time. With the rear seat lowered there is a load length of nearly , a load width averaging , a load height of nearly , and an overall carrying capacity of 54 cubic feet (assuming Dunlop Denovo run-flat wheels and tyres are fitted, obviating the need for a spare wheel).
Also included as standard items not available on the standard Princess were a wash-wipe system for the rear screen and a fully carpeted luggage area.
References
External links
Leyland Princess
Princess & Ambassadors Owners Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess (Car)
British Leyland vehicles
Cars introduced in 1975
Cars discontinued in 1981
Front-wheel-drive vehicles
1970s cars
1980s cars