British Leyland Princess

The Princess was a large family car built in the United Kingdom by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1975 until 1981, with assembly continuing in New Zealand until 1982. It began in March 1975 as the Austin, Morris and Wolseley 18-22 series, successor to the Austin and Morris 1800 range and designed under the code ADO71, and in autumn 1975 the range was rebranded Princess, in effect a new marque. Harris Mann's wedge styling divided opinion, the front-wheel-drive transverse layout gave good cabin space, and the engines were a 1798 cc B-series four or a 2227 cc E-series six, with Hydragas suspension. A revamped Princess 2 with the new O-series engine arrived in July 1978, and the design lived on until 1984 as the Austin Ambassador. Total production was 224,942.