You saw a listing for a "Rolls Royce Austin" or "Vanden Plas Princess" or "4 Litre R" or some combination of all of these and wonder what they heck they are? Chances are, you're about to become VERY confused by VERY confused and, in some cases, deceptive and unscrupulous sellers.

Princess Cars is the trade name of Vanden Plas 1923 Limited of London. Vanden Plas manufactured bodies for car makers such as Lagonda, Bentley, Daimler, and other high-line manufacturers before WWII. After WWII, the market for their very high end construction techniques was significantly smaller. They decided to offer their own cars, and called the line "Princess Cars".

Their first offering was the Princess Limousine. This car was manufactured from 1952 until 1967. It's an Austin frame, with an Austin 6 cylinder TRUCK engine, covered with a gorgeous flowing body built in hand-hammered alluminum. Over time, and especially in the US, many of these were "cosmetically converted" to look like a Rolls Royce Wraith with a Hooper Empress body. By "cosmetically converted", I mean that the grill was changed to a Rolls Royce Wraith grill, and the external badges changed from Princess to Rolls Royce. In some cases, subsequent owners incorrectly re-registered the cars as a Rolls Royce. These make up the majority of the confused sellers. While these cars are not worth a whole lot, especially in comparison to a real Empress-bodied Wraith, they can still be enjoyed and be a nice addition to a British car collector's stable.

The second offering by Princess Cars was a car called the "3 Litre". This car was an Austin bodied car with a very upscale Vanden Plas interior. Very 1960's upright 3 box styling, with late 1950's fins. Not much to recommend this car to anyone but a Vanden Plas afficionado.

The third offering, beginning in 1964, was the 4 litre R. This car was an attempt to create something unique and special. Originally designed as a sporting Bentley, it got a Rolls Royce engine in a modified 3 litre body. The fins disappeared, the tail lights and front end redesigned, the suspension upgraded, and an even more upscale interior was fitted. A falling out occurred after it was shown in its final form, and the car lost it's Bentley name plate. It became known as the "Vanden Plas Princess 4 litre R", probably the longest name ever fitted across the back of a motorcar. By contract, Rolls Royce supplied the 4500 engines they promised, and Princess Cars built and sold the cars. More than half came to the US as left-hand-drive examples. The remainder stayed in the UK as right hand drive examples. These were about half the price of a ordinary Roller, but more expensive than many upscale cars of the time (Cadillac, Lincoln, etc...). The engines in these cars were NEVER used for another model of any car. Rolls Royce made many 6 cylinder engines in the 4 litre size, including ones used in the Silver Dawn, Bentley Mk VI, Bentley R, Silver Shadow, Daimler Ferret Military Scout Car, etc... The engine is alluminum and cast iron. It is VERY lightweight and runs smoothly and silently. It has problems with the head gasket if overheated. But, when the car runs, it's absolutely fabulous. And, the styling of the car? In 1967 Rolls Royce introduced the Bentley T, a large car with nearly identical styling to the 4 litre R. The last 4 Litre R rolled off the assembly line in 1968. Probably only 1/4 of them survive today. Are they a Rolls Royce? No. Are they an Austin? No. They're pure Princess Car, powered by a Rolls Royce engine. As such, they appeal to the Rolls Royce collector (being the only "mass market" Rolls powered car ever made), the Vanden Plas collector, and the British car collector.

Vanden Plas changed in 1968 to become part of Jaguar. From 1968 until 1992 they manufactured the Daimler DS420 limousine, as well as performing special customizations and making special interiors for Rover (who took up the Princess Car name plate, getting the opportunity to continue to use the Vanden Plas trademark until the 1980's). Now, in 2005, you can only buy a Vanden Plas car from Jaguar. It's a Jaguar with an upscale interior, not a special hand-constructed car as in years past.