Austin Princess - Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre R

The Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre R was announced in August 1964. The biggest change was under the bonnet, where a new 4-litre Rolls-Royce straight-6 engine was fitted — hence the "R" in the name. The 3,909 cc over-square Rolls-Royce engine was a short-stroke version of a Rolls-Royce engine similar to that used for certain military vehicles, and boosted claimed power output to 175 bhp "gross" which provided a considerable performance increase, accompanied by wider tyres, a much higher final drive ratio and the standard inclusion of the US built Borg-Warner Model 8 automatic transmission and Hydrosteer variable ratio power steering.

The Princess 4-Litre R was presented at the London Motor Show in October 1964. Externally, the styling was more rounded and the tailfins replaced by small corner-ridges. It remained in production 4 years, killed off by BMC in 1968 (just ahead of the transition to British Leyland) after about 6,555 had been built. It was the only mass-produced civilian vehicle from another manufacturer ever to use a Rolls-Royce engine.

This car was a result of a joint BMC Rolls-Royce project for a smaller Bentley code-named Java. Rolls-Royce finally withdrew from the venture. A need had been perceived for a relatively compact, mass-produced Rolls-Royce. Prototypes were made using the Austin-engineered central portion of the Vanden Plas, with restyled Rolls Royce and Bentley panels front and rear. Neither of these models made it into production, partly due to the successful 1965 introduction of the much larger Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.

• Vanden-Plas Princess 4-litre "R"

• Rear view showing horizontal lighting arrangement