the base engine fitted was the 1798 cc b-series pushrod straight-4. the lay-out closely followed that of the predecessor model, but access to the alternator/water pump was greatly improved by exploiting the car's longer nose to fit a front-mounted radiator. the basic design of the engine dated back to 1947 and the unit with a claimed output of 84 bhp was notably lacking in power, although torque was reasonable. the larger engine, fitted to upper models in the range, was a 2227 cc e-series sohc straight-6. this was very smooth and a much more modern engine, with a published output figure of 110 bhp, but was still not hugely powerful. the princess was a big car, and the engine choice gave lacklustre performance, not helped by the provision of only a 4-speed manual gearbox (a borg-warner automatic transmission was an option). suspension used bl's hydragas system.