Princess VP 2200 Prototype

This is another one off special – the Princess Vanden Plas. It was built in mid 1975, just after the launch of the 18-22 Series, and was based on an Morris 2200. The car was built at the Kingsbury VP works and was used as the works hack before being handed to the Trust. The most striking feature is the large front grille taken from the Allegro VP and successfully grafted into the styling to give an almost Jaguar appearance, with a fabricated bonnet neatly moulded to fit behind it. The headlamps are also unique and feature integral indicator lenses with the spaces left by the original side and indicator lamps, now covered by a pair of driving lamps.

 

The interior was bespoke with many unique quality fittings, though even if the car did go into production it is highly unlikely that the classically dial and gauged dash would have made it into production.  

 

BL chose not to put this model in production as they felt the extra production costs could never be justified and it would have been quite expensive comparatively, and one wonders who would have bought it. Instead, the Wolseley was to be the top model in the range, later replaced by the HLS.

 

This car can be seen at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon in Warwickshire and is always on display.