1966 Vanden Plas Princess 1100 Mk1
A truly exceptional example and just 18,000 miles from new

Registration No: GUF 870D
Chassis No: V-AS1-11980
MOT: Exempt

• The best example we have ever encountered
• Warranted 17,900 miles from new and not taxed for road use since 1992
• The subject of a fastidious restoration by a former bodyshop proprietor between 2014 and 2020
• Still wearing correct specification Dunlop D75 tyres!
• Wonderful original, timewarp interior as fitted by Vanden Plas's craftsmen
• Factory spot welds visible throughout
• Expensive but likely unique in this condition

Inspired by a bespoke Morris 1100 that Fred Connolly of the eponymous currier had commissioned from coachbuilder-turned-manufacturer Vanden Plas, BMC tasked its Kingsbury-based subsidiary with replicating Mr Connolly’s car to gauge public reaction at the October 1963 Earls Court Motor Show. Sporting a revised radiator grille, two-tone Green paint and sumptuous Champagne Beige leather and Walnut Veneer interior, the resultant machine attracted a deluge of enquiries. Entering production in April 1964, the Vanden Plas Princess 1100 boasted a twin-carburettor 1100cc engine, four-speed manual gearbox, front disc brakes and Hydrolastic interconnected suspension. Priced at £896 (£195 more than the MG 1100 with which it shared a powerplant), the newcomer also featured a West of England cloth headlining, Wilton carpets, reading lights, rear picnic tables and individual folding front seat armrests. In an age of coachbuilt Minis by Wood & Pickett and Radford etc, the Princess 1100 with its ‘shrunken Rolls-Royce’ cabin proved a strong seller. Though, an affinity for tin worm means that the website howmanyleft.com records just seventy surviving Vanden Plas Princess 1100s.

Supplied new by Caffyns of Eastbourne to Mrs F.M. Llewellyn, ‘GUF 870D’ remained in her family until 1991. Last taxed for road use the following year, the luxury saloon has been treasured for the last three decades. Treated to a fastidious six-year restoration by a former bodyshop proprietor between 2014 and 2020, the Princess 1100 is said to have never had any corrosion or accident repairs and to retain its original factory spot welds throughout. Refinished in its original colour of Peat and reunited with its timewarp Vanden Plas interior, the four-seater is warranted to have covered just 17,900 miles from new. The best example we have encountered in terms of both condition and originality, we believe that a lesser car could not be commercially restored to the same standard for anything like the guide price. Offered for sale with V5C Registration Document, handbook, Passport to Service, original touch-up paint tin, Smiths Electric Clock instructions, model brochure and sundry paperwork.

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737