Description
THIS VEHICLE IS TO BE AUCTIONED AT GOODWOOD MEMBERS MEETING 19TH APRIL
** 1966 Vanden Plas Princess 4. 0-Litre R**
Registration no. HBL 689D
Chassis no. 6237
• Known ownership history from new
• First owner for 48 years
• Circa 50, 000 miles from new
• Last serviced in 2022
One of Britain's most illustrious coachbuilders, chiefly remembered for its sublime Vintage-era Bentleys, Vanden Plas was acquired by Austin in 1946 and reinvented 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 before marque status, albeit courtesy of 'badge engineering', arrived for 1960. The final development saw the Princess model offered with the six-cylinder Rolls-Royce FB60 engine: a 3, 909cc short-stroke variant of that used in the Silver Cloud. Extensive revisions were made to accommodate the Rolls-Royce engine and the new model – known as the Princess 4-Litre R – was most enthusiastically received. Sadly, sales slowed to a trickle and only 6, 555 cars had been built when the model was withdrawn in 1968.
Originally supplied by Vincents of Reading Ltd to Miss Aprilla Gilfrin, who owned Berystede Garage, a car rental business inherited from her father after WW2. During Miss Gilfrin's ownership the car was regularly maintained; since 1978 predominantly by Rolls-Royce specialists Sunningdale Motors Ltd (see MoTs on file). Miss Gilfrin ceased driving the car in the early 2000s and it was taken off the road with 48, 863 miles recorded, which she confirmed was genuine. She passed away in October 2013 and the car was sold by the executors of her estate in 2014. Prior to sale the car was MoT'd by DPS Coachworks at 48, 866 miles.
The car's purchaser was Mr Duncan Ellison, a classic car collector and dealer based in Scarborough. It is understood that the Vanden Plas was in generally very good condition at that time and totally original, the interior in particular being superb. In 2016, at 49, 170 miles, Mr Ellison had the car fully recommissioned and in November of that year sold it to, where it joined the Sheikh's car collection and museum.
The Vanden Plas was kept on display in the museum until the Sheikh's death in December 2020, whereupon his car collection was sold and dispersed. The car returned to the UK in 2022 and was advertised for sale online; it was purchased by a dealer from whom it was acquired by Peter Stevens in August 2023. The car had been serviced in 2022 and was MoT'd in 2023 at 49, 232 miles. This exceptional Vanden Plas comes with a smart presentation file containing the original driver's handbook; an original sales brochure; and a current V5C Registration Certificate.
