The executive class
Post-war austerity in Britain had a widespread and lasting effect. Upper-middle class society was changed forever, and conspicuous consumption became frowned upon.
One of the changes that affected the motor industry was the sharp reduction in staffed households. Without the means to employ a chauffeur, people were tending to drive themselves. They were also less inclinded to order bespoke bodywork from coachbuilders such as Vanden Plas. One way or another, this social change led to the birth of the executive class, with cars aimed squarely at the well-heeled owner-driver, and the company executive who had to drive himself at the weekend.
In 1959, the success of the previous year's Austin A105 Vanden Plas convinced BMC to produce a similar version based on its new Farina saloon, and in the process, the Vanden Plas name became a marque in its own right. A collaboration with Rolls Royce saw this car become the 4-litre R, and by the mid-Sixties, a replacement based on the forthcoming Austin 3-litre was being planned. However, a car pitched at this level in the range would not be allowed to survive follwing the merger of 1968, when its potential customers were expected to head for their nearest Rover showroom.
BMC's initial idea was to produce 'Vanden Plas' derivatives of the Austin A99 Westminster (top) and Wolseley 6/99 (above). Note the 'crown' emblems on the hubcaps of these cars. However, at the eleventh hour, Leonard Lord had the idea of aligning the new Farina-based model with the recently-established "Princess" marque, which had effectively been created in 1957 when the large Austin Princess saloons and limousines produced at Kingsbury had been set apart from the Austin brand.
Roland Fox recognised the brilliance of Lord's decision, but had barely three months to put it into practice. He decided that the new car's grille should be part-Bentley, part-Alvis in appearance, and Lord gave the new design the go-ahead. In October 1959, the car was launched as the "Princess 3-litre". However, in the minds of the public, the Princess name was still firmly associated with Austin, so in a move to overcome the fact that the new car was being referred to as the "Austin Princess 3-litre", BMC took the bold decision to brand the cars as the "Vanden Plas Princess 3-litre" from May 1960 onwards, and in due course the BMC coachbuilding subsidiary became known as "Vanden Plas Princess Cars". All future Vanden Plas Princess models would follow the style set by the 3-litre.
Vanden Plas produced this experimental limousine based on the Princess 3-litre saloon. Although it has an undeniable elegance, at the time it would have been regarded as having far less road presence than the full-size Princess DM4 Limousine. This car also provides an interesting comparison with the Lancia Flaminia State Limousine (one of six produced by Pininfarina for the British royal visit to Italy in 1961) especially as it was the Lancia Flaminia that had originally set the style for the BMC Farinas. For British customers, however, the day of the "stretch limo" had yet to come...
This Princess 3-litre Countryman, finished in the bespoke royal shade of bottle green, was produced in 1963 in response to a commission from HM Queen Elizabeth. Two years previously, Vanden Plas has converted a Princess 3 litre saloon to shooting brake specification as a demonstrator for the Queen, keen to tempt her out of her Vauxhall estate cars. This evidently worked, as in 1966 a further order was received for a similarly converted replacement, this time based on the 4 litre R; this car remained in service until 1969. It is believed that a further five Vanden Plas Countrymans were produced, one of which was used by BMC Chairman George Harriman. Incidentally, once it had served its purpose, the 1961 demonstrator (registered 3030 MX) was despatched to Longbridge and was later used by Austin Chairman Leonard Lord; it has survived, and is today in the hands of an enthusiast.
This is the prototype for the 4-litre R model which followed in 1964. While looking similar to 3-litre car on which it was based, it differed in a number of areas. The most obvious differences were the revised rear styling and the fog lamps mounted in the front panel, in place of the 3-litre's circular grilles (and if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Vanden Plas must have found the Volvo 164 of 1968 very flattering indeed). Less noticeably, the car also gained a new, longer roof panel which, combined with the revised positioning of the rear seat, liberated an extra 3 inches of legroom for back seat passengers. The "R" was a reference to this car's Rolls-Royce FB60 engine, which had been developed by Rolls-Royce from their B-series military engine, and became available to BMC as part of the doomed collaborative venture.
The colloboration between Rolls Royce and BMC which produced the 4-litre R was also intended to deliver a new Bentley saloon using the same basic bodyshell. This is the Bentley Java prototype, which shows how this car would have looked had Rolls Royce not backed out of the project. It is widely thought the development of Rolls Royce's first unitary-construction production car, the Silver Shadow, benefitted from the experience gained during Project Java. (Pictures kindly supplied by Achim Küpper)
In 1966, as part of project ADO61, this Vanden Plas version of the forthcoming Austin 3-litre was prepared, with a view to replacing the Vanden Plas Princess 3-litre. The car is something of a curate's egg: while the front appears to have benefitted from the restyling, the decision to install a wraparound rear screen in place of the Austin's six-light arrangement has served to upset the balance of what many observers consider to be the original car's most attractive viewing angle. The project was cancelled as a result of the 1968 merger with Leyland.
This page was contributed by Declan Berridge
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