The Princess saw many detailed changes during its life – and here, we catalogue them for your enjoyment. This timeline, compiled by Chris Bird, has put the car’s production history in the UK into factual order. Developing the beast Year Month Details 1975 March 18-22 Series 4-door saloon range introduced. Available as Austin 1800, 1800 [...]

In the mid-1970s, Woodall Nicholson bravely took on the Princess… IT has to be said that the Princess would not be the first car to spring to mind if considering a stretch-conversion, not least due to its rising shoulder-line, which would surely result in rather awkward lines. Well, coachbuilders Woodall Nicholson were not daunted: after [...]

The Torcars Princess was sold through the franchised BL dealer network, and was covered by the BL’s Supercover warranty. The text and pictures below have been taken from the Torcars brochures. A Torcars conversion designed to meet the growing demand for fifth-door saloons – and what a fifth door this is! The original sleek wedge [...]

And here is the car that the Princess should always have been: Crayford produced its own hatchback versions of the 18-22 series/Princess, but at a time when the five-door saloon was still a rarity, they announced their product as an estate car.

The Special Six version of the Princess was a perfect range-topper… And thanks to Stephen Harper, we have some new images of the design themes for its side graphics. The sleekest of the sleek The Princess had been on sale a mere two years when the Special Six Automatic made an appearance on the marketplace. [...]

This car is an AROnline favourite, and this one still exists at the British Motor Heritage Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire.

If a hatcback would have improved the versatility of the Princess, just think what an estate version could have offered. Picture supplied by Chris Collin

The Princess is one of those iconic cars that was ahead of the opposition, but really only became recognised in the last few years, once it slipped under the classic car umbrella. KEITH ADAMS gives you a quick run-down on what you should look for when buying yourself a nice family-sized slice of wedge. Availability [...]

Below are some pictures showing the development of ADO71 – or Diablo, as it was known in the early stages. Wedge development Slippery wedge… Three-box alternative Frontal treatments Interior designs

While several companies were quick to start tuning the Metro, Rapport were the first offer a soft-top version. Rapport took a novel approach to maintaining structural rigidity, by leaving half of the rear side windows in place. This gave the car an unusual, though not unattractive, appearance, which to a certain extent predicted the look [...]

It seems that few – if any – of these Crayford convertibles actually reached customers before the company decided to concentrate on its Fiesta conversions. Open up and say ahh… In January 1981, Motor magazine reported that Crayford was planning to build a prototype convertible version of the recently-launched Metro, with the aim of offering [...]

Another name from the Mini’s heyday – Wood and Pickett returned in 1981, offering some lavish Metro conversions, including the Ogle-styled Laser Metro… Wood and Pickett Laser Metro The Laser Metro was certainly treated as a bespoke car for discerning customers: price ranged from £11,000 to £17,000 and extras included Recaro seats, air conditioning and [...]

Frazer established itself as a new car company in 1981, offering this fabulous-looking Tickford Metro. The Tickford name was owned by Aston Martin, whose engineers and stylists designed this car. The scope of the conversion echoed that of the later Tickford Capri… Frazer Tickford Metro The Northamptonshire based company teamed up with Tickford Coachbuilding to [...]

Turbo Technics cashed in on the popularity of the aftermarket turbo conversion throughout the 1980s; as the years passed, it conversions became increasingly wild. Thankfully, this Metro was reasonably mild… Turbo Technics Metro TT Like Janspeed, the Lincolnshire based tuning firm produced the Metro TT as a tuning kit for anyone who had already bought [...]

Unbelievably, this Metro was not offered as a “factory backed” conversion, even though it came with a blue chip pedigree. John Cooper Garages offered this car (later renamed the Metro Monaco for legal reasons) as a conversion on customers’ own cars… Metro-Cooper That most illustrious of names associated with the Mini during the 1960s made [...]

Janspeed had been around for years, offering a range of tuning parts for cars as diverse as the Ford Fiesta and the Rover 3500. The Janspeed Metro was offered as an off-the-shelf conversion, which paved the way for the 1983 MG Metro Turbo. Janspeed Metro Turbo Jan O’Dor’s tuning firm produced this car as an [...]

“Cowley’s Cortina” also received the MG treatment in an attempt to give the upmarket versions a little bit more cachet than perhaps the Austin could manage. When the Montego was launched in July 1984, the MG version was seen by the company as a viable rival to such cars as the BMW 3-Series and Audi [...]

It has been said that the MG Maestro was never planned for during the LM10 development programme – certainly, early prototypes were badged as Austin Maestro EXPs. The MG badged versions came along as a result of the success of the MG Metro and as a result of this hasty development, the first MG Maestro [...]

The Metro was the first Austin Rover car to be subjected to the MG treatment. Arguably, it was the most successful recipient of the octagon treatment, perhaps because the early versions were rather similar to the Mini-Cooper in spirit… MG Metro 1300 MG Metro Turbo Identifiable from its more humble normally aspirated brother by its [...]

AS far as Austin Rover and its parent company BL were concerned, 1981 had marked a sea change in the attitudes of company executives and dealer principles across the land. No longer were they apologetic for the state of their ageing range of cars, but shored up by the warm reception given to the Austin [...]