British Leyland launched its new front-wheel-drive family saloon on 26 March 1975 as the 18-22 series, sold as an Austin, a Morris and a Wolseley. Its dramatic wedge shape, designed by Harris Mann, was unlike anything else in its class.
In September 1975, ahead of the London Motor Show, BL dropped the three separate badges and made Princess a marque in its own right. Built at Cowley in Oxford, the car sat between the Ford Cortina and the Granada in size, and offered a roomy, comfortable interior and front-wheel drive, then still unusual in its class. The Princess 2, with new O-series engines, arrived in July 1978.
Production ended in November 1981 after 224,942 had been built. The design lived on as the Austin Ambassador hatchback, built from 1981 to 1984.
