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1961 Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre Limousine 
Class: Cars, Limousine — Model origin: 
![[*]](/res/star.png){kind=small}
Minor action vehicle or used in only a short scene
Comments about this vehicle| Author | Message |
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◊ 2005-10-31 19:32 |
![[Image: rolls3es.3136.jpg]](http://pics.imcdb.org/0is45/rolls3es.3136.jpg) |
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◊ 2005-10-31 19:53 |
This isn't a Rolls-Royce. It's a Vanden Plas A135 Princess 4-Litre. |
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◊ 2005-11-01 01:21 |
At that time Vanden Plas was 'only' the coachbuilder. This car followed the Austin A135 Princess III, was shortly called Austin A135 Princess Limousine and then only Princess Limousine. This created a new make at the top of BMC hierarchy. |
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◊ 2005-11-01 10:20 |
Most of my reference books have Austin down as the maker from 1947 to 1956, and Vanden Plas as the maker from 1957-1968. 'Classic and Sportscar A-Z Of Cars 1945-1970' says of Vanden Plas.... "In 1946 Austin took over the firm and from 1960 it became a BMC marque in its own right". Therefore Vanden Plas is the make, and A135 Princess is the model. Other Vanden Plas branded cars include the Princess 4-Litre R, the 1959-64 3-Litre (an Austin Westminster offshoot) and the Vanden Plas 1100/1300. Princess wasn't a make until 1975, with the wedge-shaped 18-22 series (formerly a Wolseley). -- Last edit: 2005-11-01 10:38:23 |
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◊ 2005-11-01 18:36 |
The year would be post 1957. .gif ";)") |
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-- ◊ 2005-11-01 23:34 |
The information I had comes from a book called 'Complete Catalogue of Austin Cars since 1945' by Anders Ditlev Clausager and presented by the 'British Motor Industry Heritage Trust'. This trust cares for the history of those marques that finally came together in the Rover Group. Therefore I would treat this information as a good reference. But I dug a little bit deeper into this matter -- just for you, Saturn Simon Of course it is a bit more complicated than first thought. As I don't want to repeat the hole history of Vanden Plas back to its Belgium roots, let me give some good links and a summary: From 1947 until 1956 these cars were Austin A135 Princess (versions I to III). The Princess was the aluminium bodied version of the Sheerline. This body and all the internal trimming was made the coachbuilder Vanden Plas, a subsidary of Austin since 1946. The long-wheelbase limousine, which we see here, started in 1952. Shortly after the arrival of the version IV in 1956 Austin decided to establish an upper market brand. From 1957 the short-wheelbase saloon was known as Princess IV, the long-wheelbase limousine as Princess 4-litre Limousine with 'Princess' being the maker name. The coachwork was still being done by Vanden Plas. As only about 300 cars were made per year (too little to keep Vanden Plas running) Austin decided in 1958 to have a luxury version of the Austin A105. With the new Farina models the Austin A99 Westminster got that special Vanden Plas treatment. From 1960 Vanden Plas was used as a maker name. Those cars were now being sold as Vanden Plas Princess 3-litre and replaced the short-wheelbase Princess IV. The Princess 4-litre Limousine stayed in production until 1968, followed by the Daimler DS420, again coachbuilt by Vanden Plas. Towards the end it was only called Vanden Plas Princess Limousine. (http://www.vpoc.info/Plist67.pdf) As from the start of Vanden Plas as car maker all cars were named Princess this is being regarded as a secondary marque name. ... but I won't suggest a new classification field for that  I think we should use 'Princess ....' as the model name, if it is a 1960 or later Vanden Plas.That brings me back to what we have here: on the grill a coronet is attached. This is the logo of Vanden Plas. Additionally the logo on the wheelhubs looks more like a P for Princess than an A for Austin. As it is a black coronet this is the long-wheelbase Princess 4-litre Limousine. Now, I think, we have the correct name: Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre Limousine (1960). Well, this short comment became slightly longer than intended, but I think it is quite a fascinating history. If you like to read more look at the following link: http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/ |
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◊ 2005-11-02 00:04 |
Hmmm how come this comment got "guest" as author  I guess it is Alexander ? I guess I changed something that I should not, now you have the same identification problem that on my forum... |
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◊ 2005-11-02 00:29 |
How did you spot me? Could it be some kind of time-out? |
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◊ 2005-11-02 09:43 |
Maybe a proxy or firewall that sometimes removes part of the cookie/session headers  |
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◊ 2005-11-02 19:02 |
Thanks for finding that info Alexander. All interesting stuff! .gif ":)") |
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◊ 2011-03-10 04:22 |
I'm uneasy about this one. Plate evidence is confusing - PTN xxx issued July 51 - Apr 52, which is probably too early, but first suffix version was PTN xxxF, issued Jan-Feb 68 so too late for film. Orange indicators too late for Austin but would match mid-late Vanden Plas, but why the Austin badge in grille, unless perhaps it is a club badge? Unsure what details are reliable. Also has yellow headlight bulbs so may be Made for F car disguised to look British with fake plates. -- Last edit: 2011-08-15 02:43:55 |
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