Princess (car)

Princess ( also Leyland Princess ) existed as an independent brand name in the Group British Leyland only for the short period from 1975 to 1982.

Before 1975

In addition, for vehicles of the Austin A135 emerged the name in 1947 for the first time - at that time unusual because no other British manufacturer name as criteria in the area of ​​" royalties", the royal family used. An attempt to establish the name "Princess" regardless of Austin as an independent brand, was made ​​from 1957 with the "Princess IV ", the " Princess 4 - liter Limousine " and the " Princess 3 - liter " - a large, traditional limousines for representation purposes.

From the mid 1960s the name Princess a term that is with exclusive features for small series to date was then used as an additive term in Vanden Plas. As a top model, the Vanden Plas Princess 4 - Litre R was built from 1964 to 1968 with an engine of Rolls- Royce. After Vanden Plas was acquired by Jaguar, the new owner did not want to continue the Princess name because the name seemed to be very connected to Austin.

For Leyland 1969/70 of Harris man a vehicle has been designed with the internal designation ADO71 or Diablo. This car should be at least the competitors (other models such as the Audi 100 and the Renault 20) and equal to recapture and market share on the continent.

Predecessor

It took until March 1975 to - the predecessor of the Princess - three technically almost identical models were presented under the designation The Series 18-22 Austin, Morris and Wolseley as a beacon of hope for the Group (see also Austin 1800 and Austin 2200 ).

Distinguishing features were only the front end design and interior, for instance by higher-value materials in Wolseley. Praised by the press, and - because of their wedge shape and its edgy designs - called " The Wedge", the vehicles also had several technical innovations.

The Hydragas chassis had already been proven in other models of the group, such as the Austin Maxi, had to be omitted for reasons of capacity on the recently developed O- series in favor of other models with the engines. Instead, were from the B- series is a long-stroke 4- cylinder engine with 1800 cc and 59 kW, which was developed in the 50s, and a proven 2.2 liter 6- cylinder from the E- series from 1972 with a capacity of 77 kW used. The engines were mounted transversely, gearbox and crankcase are not separated, so that the drive unit turned out very compact. Were driven front wheels, was delayed front with disc ( ventilated at 2200 ), with rear drum brakes.

Valves and controls were, in contrast to other vehicles from the Group, sensible design and places - there was a power steering and decent seats. However, Harris man was not satisfied: in addition to a dynamic form he held a hatchback version ( hatchback with a large tailgate and fold-down rear seats ) and more powerful engines as essential to be competitive. Both were just like the use of a 5-speed transmission from intragroup reasons rejected.

Princess / Princess II

In September 1975, six months after the start of production, were to streamline the sales and to distance themselves from the generally poor reputation for manufacturing quality of Austin and Morris summarized the three parallel production lines with a total of seven trim levels for series Princess.

The Princess ( BMC ADO71 ) there were four versions: 1800, 1800 HL (High Line - with better equipment ), 2200 and 2200 HL HLS ( exclusive interior, with wood-paneled dashboard, for example ). Compared with its predecessors, the front end was unified, the 1800s with dual headlights, while 2200 with trapezoidal headlights. On the radiator grille and on the C- pillar of the Princess logo emblazoned ( in the HL and HLS version) in black vinyl. The deliverable only in the first year of production Wolseley version was called the Wolseley 2200.

As British Leyland was state property at that time, breakdowns and quality problems of the top model Princess as questions of national importance have been publicly discussed. The best sales year for the Princess was in 1977 with nearly 48,000 copies sold worldwide. In 1977 on an experimental basis in fifty copies series diesel engine proved to be a failure. In general, the Princess was difficult to sell - due to quality problems, the engine is not lush and due to lack of flexibility; a large tailgate and folding rear seats were not available. This was offset by positive properties over how the space and comfort as well as a great price advantage over competing models.

Disadvantages such as the lack of versatility of the body and the structure was solved at the customer at the British coachbuilders Crayford Engineering. In Crayford you knew the Princess subsequently with a large tailgate. Of these so-called Princess Estate Car version, however, emerged only a few copies. In the development phase, there had been factory Überlegungungen for a five-door estate, a production but was never drawn into serious consideration.

In July 1978, has been replaced as part of the facelift in addition to cosmetic changes to the 1800 motor through the 1700s and the 2000s four-cylinder O series to meet the emission regulations in the United States. The nameplate was integrated by a script in the trim. However, sales continued to decline in 1979 approximately 37,000 vehicles in 1980 were still produced just under 15,000.

In November 1980, again a revision of the series - the car received new exterior mirrors, bumpers, wheels and the new Austin logo. 1981 were produced almost 4,500 vehicles. At the end of 1981, the production of the Princess has been set.

1978 was built at the Halifax -based company Woodall Nicholson in small numbers an extended four-door version of the Princess, which was designated as Woodall Nicholson Kirklees. Woodall Nicholson also walked single copies of the Princess into hearses.

Successor

Beginning in 1975, was working on a successor, but only at the beginning of the 1980s, a five-door model has been developed consistently. In March 1982, the Austin Ambassador was presented as Princess successor. Although outwardly similar, especially in the tail region, lacked the clear, wedge-shaped and aggressive lines of the Princess. A left-hand drive version was not built. Production of the Austin Ambassador was discontinued in early 1984.

Import to Germany

In Germany proved the barely existing dealer network in sales and the long waiting times even for standard spare parts such as brake pads, air filter or exhaust, but also the image as a " British misery " for achieving success as so cumbersome that only vanishingly few copies were admitted. This, however, gave Princess owners an exclusivity that only with much money or other exotic vehicles was possible otherwise.

Yet to arrive today in Germany to a Princess, turns out to be as good as impossible. In the Benelux countries and France it was sold frequently and is occasionally seen there yet.

Import into Switzerland

In Switzerland, the Princess, like all British Leyland products through the general importer Emil Frey AG which has been imported since 1931 British cars introduced. Those quality problems was a three-year " multi Warranty " and the " Swiss finish ", a 110- point quality program for British cars, encounters, ultimately with little success. In Switzerland, the Princess had a geek role.