Racers sparked wedge styling

Press, 4 August 1977, Page 4

Racers sparked wedge styling

Harris Mann, executive stylist for Leyland Cars, talks about the thinking behind his dramatic styling for the Princess 1800:

When you were asked to stvle this new saloon, what briefing were you given?

“The brief was to design a spacious family saloon with styling advanced enough to last through the 1970 s and early to mid 1980 s. I was to exploit to the full the unique advantages of British Leyland’s front-wheel drive, transverse-engined concept. “Despite its advanced styling, it was to have as much space inside as its predecessor. It was to be easy to enter and leave and to p.osses a structure fit for every foreseeable safety and impact regulation. “Finally, the aerodynamics were to be good, for reduced noise, good high speed stability and low fuel consumption.” What influenced you most when you came to choose this particular shape?

“The car is not a crib of anyone else’s, but I am glad to see we appear to be moving forward on lines other successful makers are travelling. Certainly, we’re all influenced by the things we see on the stands at the international automobile salons — the dream cars I suppose. In this case the start for me, as 1 think it was for other designers today, was the sports-racing body.” How much work went into aerodynamic research on this car?

“We went into the wind tunnel with quarter-scale and full size fibreglass models. There was originally a deep spoiler on the rear roof lip, but it was too successful, creating too much down-force. Of course, that creates extra drag we can do without. So we smoothed the lip out, leaving just enough to give us the down-force we needed for stability. “I don’t know a great deal about experimental aerodynamics but have enough grasp of the essentials to interpret what the aerodynamicijts tell us.

“There was a lot of detail attention at the front end. We had tried to find a compromise between the sloping front we wanted for the nose and the requirement to pass enough cool air through the radiator to meet all engine cooling needs. "So the shape beneath the front bumper and the shape of the top surfaces of the bumper itself were modified as a result of wind tunnel testing. “Models suggested that the car would be very clean, with 0.350 coefficient, but the actual car was just over 0.404, which places it among the better large saloons. It is economical and stable.”