|
|
|
|
|
|
www.leylandprincess.co.uk
PRINCESS 1800
& 2200
Princess 1800 1800HL 2200HL 2200HLS By September 1975, BLMC was now
reduced to a smaller, more streamlined company - British Leyland. After just
six months from launch, the 7-car line up of the Austin, Morris and Wolseley
18-22 Series were replaced by a 4-car line up and renamed Princess.
Identification between models was now a lot simpler; 1800 versions were
fitted with a four-headlamp arrangement, and 2200’s got the trapezoidal
units. A new 2200 HLS version replaced the Wolseley. These Princess models saw the best
sales figures of all versions; 47955 were sold in 1977, (it was sold in 42
countries) its best year ever. In
order to reintroduce the Princess brand, Princess script badges were added to
the rear C posts and the front grille, along with a crown at the centre
forward of the bonnet. The Princess also received chrome trims at the top of
the sills below the doors, which helped reduce stone damage to the
paintwork. The
interior was carried over from the 18-22 Series, L and HL models were fitted
with a matt silver finish dashboard insert with a new Leyland logo in the
centre of the steering wheel pad. Note the large clock on the left of the
dials; a rev counter would have been more useful. Yet another reminder that
the Princess was not, in any way, a performance car. The
seating also continued as before, but now cloth adorned the seat facings -
provided you paid extra for it. In the transition from the 18-22 Series,
early Princess HL models received plastic seats; cloth was a cost option until
April 1976, when it then became standard. This
was the new model, the 2200HLS, which replaced the Wolseley. The
specification was identical except the humped bonnet was replaced with the
lower smoother version, along with the trapezoidal headlights.. The
HLS interior, space and comfort in the Princess was unrivalled by all the
competition, and some cars costing twice as much couldn’t better it. These Princesses are probably the most common as they were in production from 1975 to 1978, and received no trim or detail modifications throughout their life. |
|
