Cars such as the Mercedes A class, Audi A1 and BMW 1 series are often assumed to have “invented” the small car luxury niche.
But that honour goes back decades.
One of the first examples was BMC’s Vanden Plas 1100/1300.
Its design to driveway story is one of opportunism rather than insightful product planning.
Not long after the Morris 1100 was launched in late 1962, Fred Connolly (of Connolly Leather fame) ordered a one-off luxury version from BMC’s in house coachbuilders, Vanden Plas.
Vanden Plas was renowned as a builder of bespoke coach and, later, car bodies since 1870.
Austin had bought it in 1946.
When Morris and Austin merged in 1952 to form BMC, Vanden Plas was part of the deal.
It was BMC’s go to brand when it wanted to add the upmost lustre to one of its models.
Connolly’s 1100 was painted in two-tone green and had a Champagne Beige leather interior, naturally.
He used it when in London, and was enthusiastic about its smooth ride (thanks to hydrolastic suspension) and ability fit into small parking spaces.
Meantime, other coachbuilders, such as Radford and Wood & Pickett, were fitting out Minis with luxury interiors and special paint jobs for celebrities and other folks with lots of money wanting a smart little car for tootling around town.
All of this gave BMC an idea to create a luxury 1100 concept car for the 1963 Earls Court Motor Show.
Vanden Plas was commissioned to do the work.
Although unable to change the 1100’s body, Vanden Plas did devise an impressive upright grille to distinguish their 1100 from its cheaper siblings.
The name Princess was chosen.
Originally there was no plan to put the car into production, however, reaction at the show convinced BMC there was a profitable niche for such a car.
And so, in April 1964, the Vanden Plas Princes was released, powered by a twin carburettor version of the 1100 engine.
The interior of the car was sumptuous.
The full width dashboard was veneered in walnut.
Walnut also capped each door.
The deeply cushioned seats were covered in Connolly leather.
The front seats had individual arm rests built in.
Picnic tables were fitted to the rear of each front seat.
Thick pile Wilton carpet covered the floor.
The rear passengers benefited from reading lamps.
Extra sound deadening suppressed road noise.
All of this luxury saw the Princess 1100 retail for £896, some £230 or 33 per cent more than the Morris 1100.
Not a bad deal, really.
During its 10-year production run the Princess was upgraded twice, ending with a 1.3-litre version, hence the 1300 badging.
All up, BMC sold 37,000 of them.
The 1100/1300 was replaced in 1974 by the 1500/1750, which was based on the Austin Allegro.
It was not as successful.
Between 1974 and 1980 11,800 were sold, which was about half the annual rate of the 1100/1300.
After that, the name was used to signify the most expensive luxury versions of the Austin Metro, Maestro, Montego, Ambassador and Rover SD1.
Very few 1100/1300 models made it to Australia.
The best estimate is around 25.
David Burrell is the editor of retroautos
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