the car, which had the design code ado71, was originally marketed as the austin / morris / wolseley 18–22 series. in 1975 the range was renamed "princess". this was effectively a new marque created by british leyland, although it had previously been used as a model name on the austin princess limousine from 1947 to 1956, and the vanden plas princess. the princess is often referred to, incorrectly, as the austin princess. although this name was not used in the uk market, it was used in new zealand. the car was later revamped as the austin ambassador, a hatchback, which was produced from 1981 until 1984 and only available in britain and ireland.