Background
One of Britain's most illustrious coachbuilders, chiefly remembered for its sublime vintage Bentleys, the firm of Vanden Plas was acquired by Austin in 1946 and re-invented as a marque in its own right some years later.
From the late 1940s onwards Vanden Plas engaged in bodying top-of-the-line Austins, most notably the A135 Princess Limousine, before marque status arrived for 1960.
However, something less grandiose was required in order for Austin to exploit the potential of the esteemed coachbuilder's brand in the much larger owner-driver market, so from 1960 onwards there was a Vanden Plas-badged version of the Austin A99 Westminster: the Princess 3-Litre.
Mechanically identical to the Austin A99 and Wolseley 6/99, incomplete cars destined for the Vanden Plas treatment would be despatched from the Cowley factory in Oxford to the coachbuilder's works in Kingsbury, North London, where they were finished to the highest standards, gaining walnut veneer embellishments, special instruments, sumptuous leather trim and extra sound deadening insulation.
When the Austin A99 was upgraded to A110 specification in 1961, gaining a longer wheelbase and more power, the Princess followed suit, becoming the 'MkII'.
Over 50% more expensive than its 3-litre predecessor, the Vanden Plas justified its price and its rather grand demeanour on the grounds of its parentage – it was the offspring of a somewhat unlikely liaison between BMC and Rolls-Royce.
The Princess R was offered with the aluminium six-cylinder Rolls-Royce FB60 engine: a short-stroke 3,909cc variant of that used in the Silver Cloud.
Extensive revisions were made to accommodate the Rolls-Royce engine. The new model, which could cruise happily at 90mph with enough left over to get it to a top speed of 112mph, was most enthusiastically received.
Sadly, after the initial enthusiasm wore off, sales slowed to a trickle and only 6,555 cars had been built when the model was withdrawn in 1968.
