Beschreibung
VIN Chassis No.: VR535657
First regisistered: 1967
The Austin Princess Vanden Plas was Austin's top of the range flagship executive car in the 1960s, with owners often chauffeured around in them.
These Princesses were the forerunner to the Rolls Royce Silver Shadows released a year later, hence the Vanden Plas was equipped with a Rolls Royce 175hp all-aluminium engine. This gave the car an unusually high power-to-weight ratio and meant it was able to cruise comfortably at more than 90mph. It also helps explain why Austin priced the Princess Vanden Plas 4-litre R to compete with Jaguar's Mark 10 executive saloon.
The lightweight aluminium engine was the fruit of two years' collaboration between BMC and Rolls Royce, and is married up with a Borg Warner
automatic gearbox for a supremely smooth and capable drive. Hydrosteer variable ratio power steering enhances the driving experience.
Examples of the first-rate engineering that went into this car are the twin SU carburettors, hydraulic self-adjusting tappets, and a counterbalanced crankshaft running in seven bearings for extra smoothness.
Obviously the connection with Rolls Royce wasn't limited to the engine - the interior is pure luxury with plenty of room, and very well appointed, with padded polished walnut fascia and deep, comfortable fully reclineable hide seats, as well as polished fold-down picnic tables in the rear.
This Princess's bodywork is in very nice order, with nice sharp edges to the wheel arches and no visible signs of corrosion. These were very solidly built cars and this is a very straight example of a 4-litre R. The chromework and trim in general is also in very good condition. The photos of the underside prove the car has been very well looked-after and is future-proofed for many years to come. Needless to say it's a very striking-looking car which has absolutely no problem whatsoever keeping up with modern traffic, with abundant acceleration when needed, all delivered smoothly and without hesitation, as is to be expected in such a premium executive car.
These 4-litre Rs are very rare today and seldom come up for sale, hence this is a rare opportunity to own a magnificent classic which will very likely increase in value whilst you enjoy it. All the more so since there are only 67, 000 miles showing on the clock.
Please call for more details or to arrange a viewing.
