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Princess (car)
The Princess is a large family car produced in the United Kingdom by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1975 until 1981 (1982 in New Zealand). The car inherited a front-wheel drive / transverse engine configuration from its predecessr, 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 / Morris / Wolseley 18–22 series. Ahead of the October 1975 London Motor Show the range was rebranded "Princess". This was effectively a new marque created by British Leyland, although the "Princess" name had previously been used for the Austin Princess limousine from 1947 to 1956, and the Vanden Plas Princess. The Princess is often referred to as the Austin Princess. Although this name was not used in the UK market, it was used officially in some export markets including Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland. The name Leyland Princess was used in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium and Spain.
The car was later revamped as the Austin Ambassador, 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 as a "hatchback", something the Princess lacked (though Harris Mann 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 oil crisis. The Princess was somewhere between the Ford Cortina 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 restyled the Princess with a separate 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 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. The Princess limousine was a lower cost alternative to the Daimler DS420 for local government use.
Total production amounted to 224,942 units, with most examples scrapped by the 1990s.
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 BMC B-series and 2200 cc E-series-engined BMC ADO 17 "Landcrab". For the first six months of production three badge-engineered versions were produced: Austin, Morris 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 trim. Apart from their bonnet and headlamp designs, and of course their badging, the Austin and Morris models were virtually identical.
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 for example). Within BL the car was often referred to as "The Anteater". The designer, Harris Mann, was also responsible for the Triumph TR7, another wedge-shaped car, as was his original design for the Austin Allegro, although by the time that design had been readied for production nearly all the angular styling features had been lost.
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Princess (car)
The Princess is a large family car produced in the United Kingdom by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1975 until 1981 (1982 in New Zealand). The car inherited a front-wheel drive / transverse engine configuration from its predecessr, 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 / Morris / Wolseley 18–22 series. Ahead of the October 1975 London Motor Show the range was rebranded "Princess". This was effectively a new marque created by British Leyland, although the "Princess" name had previously been used for the Austin Princess limousine from 1947 to 1956, and the Vanden Plas Princess. The Princess is often referred to as the Austin Princess. Although this name was not used in the UK market, it was used officially in some export markets including Switzerland, New Zealand, France, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Switzerland. The name Leyland Princess was used in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belgium and Spain.
The car was later revamped as the Austin Ambassador, 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 as a "hatchback", something the Princess lacked (though Harris Mann 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 oil crisis. The Princess was somewhere between the Ford Cortina 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 restyled the Princess with a separate 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 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. The Princess limousine was a lower cost alternative to the Daimler DS420 for local government use.
Total production amounted to 224,942 units, with most examples scrapped by the 1990s.
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 BMC B-series and 2200 cc E-series-engined BMC ADO 17 "Landcrab". For the first six months of production three badge-engineered versions were produced: Austin, Morris 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 trim. Apart from their bonnet and headlamp designs, and of course their badging, the Austin and Morris models were virtually identical.
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 for example). Within BL the car was often referred to as "The Anteater". The designer, Harris Mann, was also responsible for the Triumph TR7, another wedge-shaped car, as was his original design for the Austin Allegro, although by the time that design had been readied for production nearly all the angular styling features had been lost.