Fuel economy featured in new Princess

Press, 4 August 1977, Page 4

Fuel economy featured in new Princess

Two versions of Leyland’s new wedge-shaped Princess 1800 saloon were launched in New Zealand today.

They are the Princess 1800 manual deluxe and the 1800 highline (HL). The HL version is available in either manual or automatic transmission.

The car, now being assembled at the Nelson plant of the New Zealand Motor Corporation, is a five-seater. four door family saloon which has proved successful on the British market.

Prices of the Princess are: 1800 deluxe manual, $7691; 1800 HL manual, $8098; 1800 HL automatic, $8455.

The car is powered by the Leyland B Series. 1798 cu. cm four-cylinder engine that has proved itself in earlier Austin and Morris saloons.

In styling and design, the accent is on an aerodynamic body shape, to enhance safety features and to aid lower fuel consumption, and on general comfort and a smooth, stable ride. In New Zealand, the Princess is being assembled and marketed in two versions — the 1800 deluxe, with four-speed manual gearbox and the 1800 highline, with the option of manual and three-speed automatic. The manual version of the wedge-shaped Princess, a family saloon for the executive market, has a top speed of 157.7 km/h.

In acceleration through the gears, the makers claim the following performance for the 1800 manual: standing start to 50 km/h, 5 sec; 0-80 km/b 10.5 sec: 0-100 km/h 15.5 sec. Equivalent acceleration times for the 1800 automatic are: 6 sec, 12 sec and 17 sec.

Leyland engineers have claimed that fuel economy was a major consideration in the design and styling of the Princess.

The manufacturers claim the following “steady speed” fuel consumption figures for the Princess 1800 manual: 50 km/h, 5.76 litres/100 km(49 mp.g.); 80 km/h, 7.43 litres/100 km(38); 100 km/h, 8.83 litres (32).

When the Princess 1800 was launched in Britain, Mr Bernard Bates, marketing director of Leyland’s Austin/Morris division made this comment on the car:

“The combination of economical engineering with a new, stylish and aerodynamic body shape, has resulted in a car which has achieved some truly satisfying fuel consumption figures.” Comparing the Princess with the earlier Austin and Morris 1800 range produced by British Leyland, the manufacturers claim that the Princess offers 16 per cent better aerodynamic efficiency, 11 per cent more boot space and that, at speeds up to 80 km/h, it offers up to 10 per cent less fuel consumption.

Features built into the Princess for comfort include a new heater which has a demister for the car’s side windows and a device to prevent driver and passengers breathing in outside exhaust fumes in heavy traffic.

Safety features Include a dual braking system. High ratio gearing in top gear is aimed to provide greater economy in fuel consumption. The four-cylinder, five main bearing 1798 cu. cm B-series engine, with its pushrod overhead valves, has great flexibility, economy and longevity, Leyland engineers claim. Slightly smaller inlet valves, in the form in which it has been adapted for the Princess, help to improve this flexibility and to cope with the higher emission control standards now being insisted upon in many countries.

To reduce noise and improve cooling, the radiator is front-mounted and there is a thermostaticallycontrolled electric fan. The manual gearbox for the De Luxe Princess and the highline model use the same C-series gear clusters, with baulk ring synchromesh on all four forward ratios, and a positive rod-shift remote control mechanism. The manual transmission has a 3.72:1 final drive ratio, giving the high over-all gearing of 30.3 km/h per 1000 r.p.m. As an option, the Princess highline version has Borg-Warner 35 threespeed automatic transmission. It has a 3.83:1 final drive, giving over-all gearing of 30.3 km/h per 1000 r.p.m. in top gear.

Chassis designers working on the Princess used the best design principles of three existing British Leyland models to achieve the standard of ride and handling in the Princess. Springing is by further development of the Hydiagas inter-connected system — with revised damping and springing rates to suit the new application.

The front suspension units are mounted horizontally in a cross-tube which, as on the now-dis-continued Austin 1800 with Hydragas suspension, is an integral part of the bodyshell bulkhead assembly. This arrangmeent tends to "contain” the suspension loads in the very rigid bulkhead by setting the two spring reaction forces against each other. The tube itself contributes to the high torsional rigidity of the body shell. The forged upper suspension arm operates the Hydragas unit in lever fashion via a knuckle joint and pivots on rubber torsion bushes pressed into the body of the arm.

The rear suspension is very closely based on the suspension design for the Austin Allegro — with trailing arms and levered Hydragas units, mounted on rubber torsion bushes to a cross-tube, which is, itself, rubber mounted to the body shell.

The Princess has rack and pinion steering, with rack housing rubbermounted to the body shell. The mounting compliance has been carefullly tuned to give insulation from shock and vibration, without detracting from steering precision.

Two universal joints in the steering column and energy-absorbing support brackets minimise steering wheel displacement in a frontal impact. The steering wheel has a padded hub to spread chest impact loads in an accident.

Introduced specially to meet safety requirements, the brakes of the Princess have a dual line hydraulic system with "L” split, in which each circuit serves two front wheels and one rear w'heel.

The huge 270 mm front discs each have a fourpiston, twin-feed caliper. The rear drum brakes, of 228 mm diameter, are selfadjusting. with one leading, one trailing shoe layout. Direct acting vacuum servo power assistance reduces braking effort.

A warning light on the dashboard alerts the driver if one hydraulic circuit fails. The switch in which the warning light is set enables the driver to test the bulb at any time.

The handbrake, between the front seats, works on the rear drums. The Princess has 35.5 cm pressed steel disc wheels with 185/70 SR-14 radial ply tyres. The rim width is 11.4 cm.

The sleekly-styled Princess has an all-steel welded monocoque body shell. Part of the brief to Leyland’s styling experts was to meet impact safety requirements, improve engine accessibility and to reduce aerodynamic drag — but at the same time to give the car a new, dramatic appearance. Leyland engineers describe the Princess as “still significantly shorter than conventional cars which offer similar or less accommodation.” They claim the car is “sleekly tailored” around the seating area, while offering II per cent more luggage space, with a boot capacity of 12.56 cu ft. Door handles are a new vertical lift safety type, flush with the panelling. The doors will remain open in two positions. There are anti-burst, clawtype latches, and childproof locks are fitted to the rear doors.

• Leyland engineers claim that the elasticity of the padding in the seat cushions complements the springing of the Princess itself.

Both versions have slide-mounted, fully-reclin-ing front seats, with fullwidth slide-release bars. The driver’s seat also has a spring assisted height and tilt adjustment for the entire seat, to alter the height of the front of the cushion. The cushion, alone, adjusts to 240 postions.

The Princess has two instruments, a speedometer with trip recorder and a combined fuel level/coolant temperature gauge. It is equipped with a twin control stalk system, with “flickwipe” and screen-washer twospeed windscreen wipers. These are controlled by the left-hand stalk. The horn, the headlamp dip and flash system and the direction indicators are controlled by the righthand stalk.

Grouped to the right of the instruments are switches for panel, side and headlights, heated rear window, hazard warning light flashers and brake warning light with test switch.

The car has a 72-litre fuel tank tucked safely between the rear suspension arms. Safety features include hazard warning flashers.