Princess (car)

Austin/Morris/Wolseley 1800/2200 (until September 1975) Princess (thereafter)
1977 Princess 2200 HL
Overview
Manufacturer	British Leyland, Austin Morris division
Production	1975–1981 (until 1982 for New Zealand)
Assembly	United Kingdom New Zealand: Nelson
Designer	Harris Mann
Body and chassis
Class	Large family car
Body style	4-door saloon
Layout	FF layout
Powertrain
Engine	1.8 L B-series pushrod straight-4 (Austin 1800 & Morris 1800 only) 2.2 L E-series SOHC straight-6 (Austin 2200, Morris 2200 & Wolseley Saloon only)
Transmission	4-speed manual all-synchromesh[1] 3-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	105 in (2,667 mm)[1]
Length	175.4 in (4,455 mm)[1]
Width	68.1 in (1,730 mm)[1]
Height	55.5 in (1,410 mm)[1]
Chronology
Predecessor	Austin 1800 & 2200 (ADO17) Morris 1800 & 2200 (ADO17) Wolseley 18/85 & Six (ADO17)
Successor	Austin Ambassador

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 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,^[2] 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,^[3] although the "Princess" name had previously been used for the Austin Princess limousine from 1947 to 1956,^[4] and the Vanden Plas Princess. 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. 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.