1974 Vanden Plas Princess

The Vanden Plas Princess 1100 and 1300 are four-seater saloons produced from 1963 to 1974.

The Vanden Plas shared its running gear – a transversely mounted S4 OHV engine driving the front wheels, 4-speed gearbox, and disc/drum brakes with Hydrolastic suspension and basic monocoque 4-door body shell with the Austin and Morris badged versions of the ADO16. The major difference was in the level of trim and finish.

Shortly after the Morris 1100 was launched in 1962, Fred Connolly, of Connolly Leather fame, commissioned BMC’s in-house coachbuilder Vanden Plas to build an extremely luxurious ADO16. The British Motor Corporation saw the potential in a full production model and so a Princess 1100 was showcased at the 1963 Earls Court Motor Show, in order to evaluate potential orders.

The reaction was so positive that BMC decided to put the Vanden Plas into full production. Body shells were transported to the Kingsbury works where the 1100 received leather upholstered seats and a floor covered with a pile carpet. The VDP treatment also encompassed full instrumentation, including an ammeter and a clock, fresh air vents, rear picnic tables, reclining front seats and folding armrests fore and aft plus spot, fog and reversing lamps. Extras included a radio, a laminated windscreen, a sunroof and a heated rear screen.

Power for the Princess was from the twin carburettor version of the BMC A-series engine as fitted to the MG 1100, giving the VDP a top speed of 87mph with 0-60 in 21 seconds. Although a price tag of £895 14s 7d made the Princess virtually as expensive as a Ford Zephyr Mk. III, it truly was a unique offering. ‘For the satisfaction it offers discriminating buyers, we think the extra cost over other BMC 1100s is well justified’, mused the chaps at Autocar.

Automatic transmission became an option in November 1965 and by June 1967 the Vanden Plas Princess was also available with the single carburettor 1.3-litre A-Series engine. October of that year the saw body gained the new ‘cropped fin’ look of the Austin/Morris 1100/1300 Mk.2. December 1967 saw an all-synchromesh gearbox for the Vanden Plas 1300 and the 1100 version was dropped shortly thereafter. By June 1968 manual versions were powered by a twin carburettor version of the 1.3-litre engine, with the automatics receiving a single carburettor. Such developments reflect the chaos that was BMC at the time of its merger with Leyland.

The last Vanden Plas Princess 1300 left the production lines in June 1974.

One intriguing export only model was the US market MG Princess 1100; identical in every way to the Vanden Plas bar the octagon badging. Only 154 were made between late 1964 and early 1965; a price around the $3,000 mark may have been a major reason for its limited popularity.

The Vanden Plas Princess 1100s were powered by a 1,098cc A-series engine with twin SU carburettors while the early 1300s have the 1,275cc S4 unit with a single SU HS4 carburettor and the later (manual gearbox models) twin SU HS2s. The 1.1-litre Princess lacks synchromesh on first gear and the automatic transmission is a 4-speed AP box.

Imagine what was the finest small car in its class, combined with a finish that would receive a (discreet) nod of approval from any Bentley or Daimler owner. That is the essence of the Vanden Plas Princess version of the ADO16.

In addition to problems familiar to any BMC 1100/1300 owner – corrosion of the sub frame, hydraulic suspension pipes, sills and wheel arches to name – a VDP with a poorly maintained cabin may prove to be a highly expensive prospect.

On a few occasions, the British Motor Corporation’s mania for badge-engineering did produce the right car launched at the right time – and this certainly applies to the Vanden Plas. To drive one is to understand why it became a cult car in Japan and why it is so desirable in its homeland.

Anyone looking for an upmarket small car in the 1960s and 1970s like the Vanden Plas Princess 1100 or 1300 might also have considered the Triumphs Herald 12/50, 1300 and 1500, or possibly the Peugeot 304.