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| 1966 Vanden Plas PRINCESS 4-litre R Saloon car (car chassis number VRS3/6453), with a Rolls Royce 4l six cylinder engine #5558 |
The Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre R with its Rolls-Royce all-aluminium 175 bhp engine was announced in August 1964. With an unusually high power to weight ratio the car gave easy cruising at 150 km/hr and was capable of 175 km/hr.
While there were some significant exterior alterations, the big change was under the bonnet where there was a result of more than two years technical collaboration between BMC and Rolls-Royce. The aluminium Rolls-Royce FB60 engine was a short-stroke version of the Rolls-Royce Military B: 4, 6 and 8 cylinder units of which more than 30,000 had already been produced. The 6-cylinder engine weighed only 204 kg. Its cubic capacity was 3.909 litres. Over-square: bore was 95.25 mm, stroke 91.44 mm; with a 7.8:1 compression ratio its output was 130 kW; 177 PS; 175 bhp @4,800 rpm. Twin SU carburettors were fitted. Both block and head were aluminium, tappets were hydraulic self-adjusting operating on overhead inlet and side exhaust valves. The counterbalanced crankshaft ran in seven bearings.
The 4-litre R was replete with polished walnut fascia padded top and bottom, hide upholstered seats with fully reclinable backs and polished picnic tables for the rear passengers. A new automatic transmission was provided, Borg-Warner model 8, its first use in a British car and Hydrosteer variable ratio power steering accompanied wider tyres. Externally the fog lamps were moved up by the grille, the hindquarters tidied extended and adjusted to look more substantial and the tailfins replaced by small corner-ridges.
About 6,555 were built. It was the only mass-produced civilian vehicle from another manufacturer ever to use a Rolls-Royce engine.
0-100 km/hr in 12.7 seconds.
Engine fuel economy: 18.8 l / 100 km.
Length of body 4,769 mm
Width of body 1,740 mm
Height of body 1,499 mm
The background to the pricing was that from April 1961 tax relief on company cars was allowed only up to £2,000. In 1966 the Vanden Plas Princess 4-litre R sold for only £1,994.
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| 1966 Vanden Plas PRINCESS 4-litre R Saloon car (car chassis number VRS3/6453), with a Rolls Royce 4l six cylinder engine #5558 |
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| 1966 Vanden Plas PRINCESS 4-litre R Saloon car (car chassis number VRS3/6453), with a Rolls Royce 4l six cylinder engine #5558 |
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| 1966 Vanden Plas PRINCESS 4-litre R Saloon car (car chassis number VRS3/6453), with a Rolls Royce 4l six cylinder engine #5558 |
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| 1966 Vanden Plas PRINCESS 4-litre R Saloon car (car chassis number VRS3/6453), with a Rolls Royce 4l six cylinder engine #5558 |
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| 1966 Vanden Plas PRINCESS 4-litre R Saloon car (car chassis number VRS3/6453), with a Rolls Royce 4l six cylinder engine #5558 |
