Leyland Princess
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| Leyland Princess | |
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| Manufacturer: | British Leyland |
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| Production: | 1975-1981 |
| Predecessor: | Austin/Morris 1800 |
| Successor: | Austin Ambassador |
| Class: | fullsize car |
| Body style: | 4-door saloon |
| Engine: | 1800 cc B-Series pushrod straight-4 2200 cc E-series SOHC straight-6 1700 cc O-Series SOHC straight-4 2000 cc O-Series SOHC straight-4 |
The Leyland Princess is a medium-to-large car that was produced in the United Kingdom by British Leyland from 1975 until 1981.
The car was originally called the Austin / Morris / Wolseley 18–22 series. Later, it was given the name Princess, first used on the Austin Princess limousine of 1947 and being revived almost as a marque in its own right. The Leyland Princess is often referred to as the Austin Princess, but this name was not used in the home (UK) market. It was, however, used in New Zealand. The car later appeared in revamped form as the Austin Ambassador between 1982 and 1984.
It was a sales disaster for Leyland, never even equalling the previous 1800/2200 model's sales in any year, and that was a model which was itself a sales disappointment. It was widely reviled in its time, but this owes something to the many problems at British Leyland, rather than the car itself.
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[edit] Controversial styling
Like many other controversial cars, 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 in very much 1970s style as created by Italian stylists (see Lamborghini Countach for the production epitome of such style). Within BL the car was often referred to as The Anteater. The designer, Harris Mann, was also responsible for the Triumph TR7, another notably wedge-shaped car, as well as the decidedly non-angular Austin Allegro.
The Princess, unlike the Allegro, made it to production metal 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, but management decided that the Austin Maxi should be the only hatchback in the range, making that its unique selling point, and besides, they thought the Princess's prospective buyers would not like a hatchback - even though, in the Rover division, the new Rover SD1 was being given a hatchback design. Consequently, the Princess received fixed rear glass and a separate boot (trunk), belying its appearance. Some feel this was to prove a sales-loser the Princess's entire life.
An estate version was also proposed, although never made production.
[edit] Mechanical details
The base engine fitted was the 1800 cc B-Series pushrod straight-4. This design dated to 1947 and was notably lacking in power, though torque was reasonable. The larger engine, fitted to upper models in the range, was a 2200 cc E-series SOHC straight-6. This was very smooth and a much more modern engine, but was still not hugely powerful. The Princess was a big car, and the engine choice gave lacklustre performance. This wasn't helped by the provision of only a 4-speed manual gearbox (a Borg-Warner automatic transmission was an option, but performance with this was by all accounts positively lethargic). Bigger engines and a 5-speed would have made the Princess a much more exciting car and helped sales.
Suspension used BL's Hydragas system, and was very soft and smooth; the intention was to offer as smooth a ride as the Citroën CX and this was almost achieved. The Princess's ride was excellent, and comfort in general was a selling point; the car was roomy, reasonably well-appointed for the time, the seating was comfortable, and overall the driving experience - provided you didn't care that much about performance - was excellent.
[edit] Launch in three varieties
When it was launched in March 1975, the car was not originally called the Princess, but it was originally called the 18-22 Series, which referred to the engine sizes available. For the first six months of its production life, it was produced in three badge-engineered Austin, Morris and Wolseley guises. The Austin model (1800, 1800 HL and 2200 HL) was the really standard one, featuring square headlights and a simple horizontally-barred grille. The Morris (1800, 1800 HL and 2200 HL) and Wolseley cars had a raised 'hump' permitting a larger, styled grille for each model; the Morris one was a simple chrome rectangle with 'Morris' in the lower right-hand corner, while Wolseley's had a centre-chromed vertical bar with a Wolseley logo on it, with narrower vertical bars, set slightly back, filling in 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 trim.
[edit] Leyland Princess
By September of the same year (1975), the process of unifying Austin and Morris dealerships was advanced sufficiently, while the Wolseley marque was to be abandoned. The three badge-engineered cars were dropped in favor of a single version, the Leyland Princess. A crown badge was affixed to the point of the bonnet and the script word Princess was affixed to the grille, the thick vinyl-clad C-pillars and the boot. In another 'own goal', the popular 1800cc model bore the ugly twin headlights, and only the seldom-seen 2200cc model had the wedge-shaped headlights Harris Mann had designed the car to be seen with.
The Princess' build quality 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'.
[edit] Princess 2
In July 1978, the Princess was revised to become the Princess 2. The ageing 1800cc B-Series engine was replaced by two new power units: the O-Series 1700cc and 2000cc. Despite the new engines (the 1700 unit giving 87bhp and the 2000 unit giving 93bhp respectively), power was scarcely improved, and the six-cylinder 2200cc version continued unchanged.
Along with the new engines, the Princess 2 received a minor facelift, the Princess script was deleted from the grille and C-pillars, the bootlid lettering was changed (there were now two small badges at each side of the boot, which replaced the previous full width badge bar), new side repeater indicators were fitted to the front wings, the coachline continued past the wheelarch, and the windscreen was now laminated. The entry-level L had chrome door mirrors and chrome wheel trims, while all the other models had satin black door mirrors and plastic wheel covers previously exclusive to the 2200 HLS, now with black rubber wheel nut covers instead of the solid chrome nuts. This was the total extent of the changes, bar some interior tweaks such as a black dashboard and center console, wooden dash insert (not available on the L, which made do with a matt black dash insert). The graphics on the dials were also improved, the steering wheel had a new center pad and the rim was covered in leather. Only the top-specification HLS had a radio fitted as standard, while all the other models had this as an optional extra (even on the models with no radio, there was still an aerial and a pair of speakers fitted!). Neither of the Princess's major flaws, the lack of a hatchback and the lack of performance, were addressed. The Princess 2 range consisted of the entry-level 1700 L, followed by the middle-range 1700 HL, 2000 HL and 2200 HL and, finally, the top-of-the-range 2200 HLS.
A special one-off customized estate version of the Princess was built in late 1978 to promote Triplex glass. This vehicle can be seen at the Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire.
It was obvious that sales of the 2200 HL were slow, so it was discontinued in January 1979 and therefore making the 2200 HLS the only six-cylinder model in the range. The 1700 HLS and 2000 HLS were introduced in May of that same year, replacing the 2200 HL. There were no cosmetic differences between the 1700 HLS, 2000 HLS and 2200 HLS, just their engine sizes! There were now six different cars in the model range, with the HLS trim level being available with all three engine options, but this wasn't to be for long as the 1700 HLS also discontinued soon after it was introduced.
In October 1980 some more minor appearance changes were made, but this would be the last year of the Princess. This was badged as the "Austin Princess" in New Zealand. Production had ceased in November 1981, though completely knocked-down kits of the car were still being assembled in New Zealand Motor Corporation's plant in Nelson until June 1982. 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 Austin cars.
The basic Princess design lived on for a few more years in revised form as the Austin Ambassador.
[edit] Today
Throughout most of the 1980s and 1990s a Princess was considered so undesirable as to be almost worthless. Consequently, few are now left in good condition, and most have long since been scrapped. Possibly New Zealand (where almost no salt is used on the roads in winter) is now the only country where the Princess can still be seen in abundance.
Many Princesses are now old enough to have antique car status, and they have a small but enthusiastic following. The unique 1970s styling appeals to these people as attractively retro, and the cars are still easy to maintain with readily available parts. Prices are still very low.
The car featured in the music video to the song "Once Around the Block" by Badly Drawn Boy.
