Princess 4 Litre
'R'
It was in 1964 that the
Vanden Plas 4 litre 'R' came out, this was based on the Princess 3
litre. body and suspension. The development of the car was based on
a joint project with BMC and Rolls Royce in the early 60s. The idea
behind the deal was to produce an upmarket executive car. Various
options were looked at, but as time went on, Rolls Royce got less
interested, and so BMC decided to take the 3,909 cc Rolls-Royce FB
60 engine and install it in a revised Princess 3 litre body. The
alloy-block engine was a revised version of an earlier engine which
had been used in many
military vehicles including the Austin Champ. The early engines
tended to be noisy and suffered
reliability problem in its first few months of production.
Rolls Royce FB 60
engine
Under the
Bonnet
It used a Borg-Warner model
8 automatic gearbox, which was an upgraded model 35 which was used
on a variety of vehicles. Power steering was the standard
Hydrosteer supplied by Cam Gears, some people though the steering
was too light.
Rear
View
Although body changes to
the 4 litre R at first glance seemed few, the most obvious was at
the rear with rounded rear fins and different light clusters, along
with a raised boot sill. Top of both the front and rear glass
blended into the roof line, giving a more pleasing look. Increased
headroom was achieved by having a more vertical rear window. At the
front the fog lamps were recessed in what was the horn apertures on
the 3 lite along with larger lamps for the side-flashers
units.
The interior was up to the usually VP standard, the 'R' was quieter
as more sound deadening material was been used on the floor,
bulkhead and under bonnet.
The prime market for the model was in the USA. but sales were slow,
although about 4,500 were sold between 1964/68. In the UK and
Europe sales were about 2,000 with the total produced over the four
years been 6,555. Production was to be about 100 vehicles a week,
although this was probable achieved in the early life of the car.
With production exceeding sales, it was necessary to reduce
production according, at one time they were been stockpiled. I
think that one of the main reason that sales were disappointing was
that the body style was not that different to the 3 litre. Cost
also was a factor, as at £1994, it was over £500 more than the 3
litre.
Production of the body-running gear was at Morris Cowley plant,
then they were transported down to the Vanden Plas factory at
Kingsbury London, where the interior trim was
fitted.
Date when launched August
1964 Discontinued in 1968
Total produced 6,781
Engine Rolls Royce FB 60
3,909cc 175 bhp at 4,800 rpm Max torque 218lbs/ft at 3,000
rpm
Main measurements
Length 15ft 8ins Width 5ft 8.5ins Height 4ft 11ins
Wheelbase 9ft 2ins Track front 4ft 6.9ins rear 4ft
5.3ins
Price at launch £1,994