1972 Austin Vanden Plas

1300 Sedan

4 - Cyl.

Manual

Clear

Gasoline

1972 Vanden Plas Princess 1300 Here is a low mileage, wonderful Vanden Plas Princess with a beautiful interior of leather seats, walnut dash and walnut picnic tables. The car is also fitted in the back seat for attaching support straps for a child's seat. This car was owned by a gentleman who passed away recently and his son sold me the car; he had owned the car over 30 years and it was his pride and joy. The three-ring binder full of documentation that came with the car proves it! These Vanden Plas cars are unique to the British motor industry...in many ways, they are ahead of their time in terms of luxury and comfort. They drive extremely smoothly and firm on the road — the ride is like a much bigger and heavier car. These cars get over 35 mpg and can maintain 65 mph on the interstate. From the February 1998 issue of Classic Cars: "Who but the British could have dreamed up a car like the Vanden Plas Princess 1100 and 1300? Here was a machine perfect for the social-climbing snobs of suburban Britain, a bizarre luxury car in miniature for a curtain-twitching country obsessed with class and social status....Not only do the seats recline but you can raise them several inches on a chromed handle down by your feet. They have individual fold down armrests and, of course, picnic tables for that impromptu cup of Earl Grey." An advertising brochure of the day stated: "In this age of mass production and automation, the Vanden Plas Princess 1300 may come as something of a surprise. A refreshing and pleasant one at that. Because the keynotes throughout this car, are, quite frankly, good taste and unashamed luxury. And if the achievement of these two criteria means that extra time and money have to be spent, we make no apologies. "You see, much of the work that goes into a Princess 1300 is done by hand. By craftsmen who care about the finished product as much as Henri van den Plas did when he went into business designing and building elegant coachwork a century ago." This description was written by the previous seller: "These unique and unusual luxury cars were basically an Austin 1100/1300 steel unitary shell fitted with a motor. They were then transferred to the coach builders Vanden Plas at Kingsbury who completely transformed them into a "baby Rolls Royce" using the finest English leather, walnut and Wilton carpets and special sound deadening material was installed everywhere. The specification includes picnic tables back and front, uprated twin carb version the motor used in the mini, electric clock and courtesy lights, special V.P. grille and wheel trims, arm rests, oil pressure and temp gauges and locking fuel cap." The June 2010 issue of the British magazine Classics Monthly carried an article comparing the Vanden Plas with the Triumph Toledo and Ford Escort. The following is quoted:"...the Vanden Plas Princess wasn't a planned-for model -- it came about thanks to Fred Connolly of Connolly Leather. Fred asked Vanden Plas to make him an upmarket version of the new Morris 1100, and they duly obliged. BMC took this idea a stage further and displayed a Vanden Plas Princess 1100 prototype at the 1963 London Motor Show. So great was the interest shown, a lightly restyled version was in full production from April 1964. The Princess 1300 arrived in late 1967. With its neat design, clean lines and short overhangs, the 1100/1300, one of the best small cars of its era, still looks remarkably fresh -- and the Vanden Plas touches set it off beautifully. The chrome, the coachlines, the unique hubcaps, and embellishers look great, but the Princess's crowning glory is its frontal treatment. That striking grill, the driving lights and the sizeable overriders all combine to create an impressive look and a wonderful symmetry. However, it's the interior that truly lifts this car above its peers. Sumptuous Connolly leather, lush careting, acres of highly polishe walnut, squashy armrests, fold-down picnic tables in the rear -- this is indeed a luxury car. The amount of usable interior space is astonishing considering the modest overall dimentions, the seats are supremely comfortable, and the ride is remarkably civilised."I have three other Princesses of the same vintage: a red, a green and a blue one with a full Webasto sliding roof. If you are interested, email me and I can provide further information. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 On Jul-28-10 at 16:40:05 PDT, seller added the following information: I have added three photos showing the child support devices and how they are bolted through to the support system behind the back seats. There is also room to add similar ones to the right side and to add additional seat belts to the rear seats should you so desire.