1965 Vanden Plas Princess 4-Litre R
Rolls-Royce engines rarely appeared outside the company’s own vehicles, making the Princess 4-Litre R an unusual exception. Between 1964 and 1968, Vanden Plas (the historic coachbuilder acquired by Austin in 1946) completed 6,555 examples at their Kingsbury works in North London.
Each began as an incomplete Austin body shipped from Cowley, then received hand-fitted walnut veneer, leather upholstery, and additional sound insulation. The revised body featured a new roofline for extra headroom, horizontal rear light clusters, and recessed foglights that set it apart from the earlier 3-Litre model.
The aluminum Rolls-Royce FB60 engine (a 4.0-liter, 242-cubic-inch inline six producing 175 horsepower) weighed about 450 pounds (approximately 204 kg) and required extensive modifications to the Austin platform. BMC priced the car at £1,994, positioning it alongside the Jaguar Mark X despite its resemblance to less expensive models.
Initial enthusiasm faded quickly, and production never approached the planned 100 units per week. A large number of examples were exported, including many to the United States.
Source
