Vanden Plas
Encyclopedia
Vanden Plas is the name of a company of coachbuilder
s who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from various subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group
.
in 1870 as Carrosserie Vanden Plas founded by Guillaume van den Plas and his three sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy, with bases in Antwerp and Brussels.
in 1906 when Métallurgique
cars were imported with Vanden Plas coachwork. In about 1910 Warwick Wright (now Peugeot
dealers), a British motor retailer, purchased the United Kingdom rights to the Vanden Plas name and established Vanden Plas (England) Ltd.
the company became involved in aircraft production and was bought by Aircraft Manufacturing Company
based at Hendon
, London. In 1917 a new company, Vanden Plas (1917) Ltd., was formed. The company seems to have struggled to get back into coachbuilding and in 1922 went into receivership. The exclusive UK rights purchase seems also to have gone as in the early 1920s the Belgian firm was exhibiting at the London Motor Show alongside the British company.
and built on the contacts that had been made with Bentley. Between 1924 and 1931, when Bentley failed, Vanden Plas built the bodies for over 700 of their chassis.
In the 1930s the company became less dependent on one car maker and supplied coachwork to such as Alvis
, Armstrong Siddeley
, Bentley, Daimler
, Lagonda
and Rolls-Royce
. The company also updated its production methods and took to making small batches of similar bodies.
With the outbreak of war in 1939 the company went back into aircraft work and coachbuilding stopped.
wanted to produce a large Rolls-Royce-size luxury car and approached Vanden Plas.
In 1946 Vanden Plas became a subsidiary of the Austin Motor Company
and produced Austin's A135 Princess
model.
From 1958 this also began to involve chassis assembly and the Austin (now BMC
) board recognised Vanden Plas as a motor manufacturer in its own right. In 1958/59 Austin was dropped so the Princess could be sold by Nuffield dealers. In 1960 the Princess became the Vanden Plas Princess.
to add luxury fittings to a batch of Austin A105 Westminster
cars, beginning the practice of using the company's skills and name for badge engineered (and genuinely improved) luxury versions of many of the BMC (and later British Leyland (BL)) cars such as the 1100/1300
range and the Allegro
(known as the Vanden Plas 1500 and 1700). The proposed Vanden Plas version of the Marina
did not go into production.
From 1985 to 1989, Austin Rover made upmarket Vanden Plas models within its Metro, Maestro
and Montego
ranges; a limited edition of 500 only models were produced at Longbridge called the Austin Metro VP 500. The name is now used only on North American Jaguar cars.
In 1992, a Japanese company recreated the Vanden Plas 1100/1300 look on the Nissan Micra K11. This involved replicating the front and rear of the Vanden Plas, complete with two tone paint scheme as sported by the original model in the 1960s.
Production of the Vanden Plas Princess limousine stopped in 1968 when it was replaced by the Daimler DS420
Limousine (Jaguar had acquired Daimler
in 1960) built by Vanden Plas on a lengthened Jaguar Mark X
platform. The DS420 was produced at the Kingsbury Lane Vanden Plas factory until it closed in November 1979.
The overall holding company board decided in 1967 there was insufficient in the group advertising budget to cope with marketing the Daimler brand in North America as well as Jaguar. This decision was later changed but Vanden Plas is used in North America instead of Daimler on Jaguar's top luxury models. Ownership of the Vanden Plas name stayed with the Rover Group
, and Jaguar was obliged to stop using it in the United Kingdom, though it continues to do so in America. Within the UK a Daimler Double-Six Vanden Plas became a Daimler Double Six.
The last UK market British car to bear the Vanden Plas name was the Rover 75
.
to protect the Land Rover brand from Shanghai Automotive who wanted the Rover name for their 75-based car (Ford was at this time owner of Land Rover — and Jaguar). The Vanden Plas name (for outside North America
) and many other Leyland names were purchased by Nanjing Automobile.
Coachbuilder
A coachbuilder is a manufacturer of bodies for carriages or automobiles.The trade dates back several centuries. Rippon was active in the time of Queen Elizabeth I, Barker founded in 1710 by an officer in Queen Anne's Guards, Brewster a relative newcomer , formed in 1810. Others in Britain included...
s who produced bodies for specialist and up-market automobile manufacturers. Latterly the name became a top-end luxury model designation for cars from various subsidiaries of British Leyland and the Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
.
Belgium
It originated in BelgiumBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in 1870 as Carrosserie Vanden Plas founded by Guillaume van den Plas and his three sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy, with bases in Antwerp and Brussels.
United Kingdom
The company first appeared in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1906 when Métallurgique
Métallurgique
Métallurgique were cars made by SA L'Auto Métallurgique, Marchienne-au-Pont, Belgium between 1898 and 1928. Before making cars, the company had made railway locomotives and rolling stock.-Production:...
cars were imported with Vanden Plas coachwork. In about 1910 Warwick Wright (now Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
dealers), a British motor retailer, purchased the United Kingdom rights to the Vanden Plas name and established Vanden Plas (England) Ltd.
Aircraft
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the company became involved in aircraft production and was bought by Aircraft Manufacturing Company
Airco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited was established in 1912 by George Holt Thomas at The Hyde in Hendon, north London, England.-Geoffrey de Havilland:...
based at Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, London. In 1917 a new company, Vanden Plas (1917) Ltd., was formed. The company seems to have struggled to get back into coachbuilding and in 1922 went into receivership. The exclusive UK rights purchase seems also to have gone as in the early 1920s the Belgian firm was exhibiting at the London Motor Show alongside the British company.
Bentley
The rights to the name and the goodwill were purchased by the Fox brothers who moved the company from Hendon to KingsburyKingsbury
Kingsbury is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London. The name Kingsbury means "The King's Manor".-History:Kingsbury was historically a small parish in the Hundred of Gore and county of Middlesex. Until the nineteenth century it was largely rural with only scattered settlements....
and built on the contacts that had been made with Bentley. Between 1924 and 1931, when Bentley failed, Vanden Plas built the bodies for over 700 of their chassis.
In the 1930s the company became less dependent on one car maker and supplied coachwork to such as Alvis
Alvis Cars
Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd was a British manufacturing company that existed in Coventry, England from 19191967. In addition to automobiles designed for the civilian market, the company also produced racing cars, aircraft engines, armoured cars and other armoured fighting vehicles, the...
, Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury motor cars and aircraft engines.-Siddeley Autocars:...
, Bentley, Daimler
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
, Lagonda
Lagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car marque, founded as a company in 1906 in Staines, Middlesex by a former opera singer from Ohio, but of Scottish ancestry, named Wilbur Gunn . He named the company after a river near the town of his birth, Springfield, Ohio, United States...
and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
. The company also updated its production methods and took to making small batches of similar bodies.
With the outbreak of war in 1939 the company went back into aircraft work and coachbuilding stopped.
Austin
With peace in 1945 the company looked to restart its old business, but a surprising new customer came along. AustinAustin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
wanted to produce a large Rolls-Royce-size luxury car and approached Vanden Plas.
In 1946 Vanden Plas became a subsidiary of the Austin Motor Company
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
and produced Austin's A135 Princess
Austin Princess
The Princess was a distinctive series of large luxury cars made by Austin and its subsidiary Vanden Plas from 1947 to 1968. However:The Princess name was later also used as follows:...
model.
From 1958 this also began to involve chassis assembly and the Austin (now BMC
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
) board recognised Vanden Plas as a motor manufacturer in its own right. In 1958/59 Austin was dropped so the Princess could be sold by Nuffield dealers. In 1960 the Princess became the Vanden Plas Princess.
Badge engineering
Also in 1957/8, Vanden Plas were asked by Leonard LordLeonard Lord
Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE was a captain of the British motor industry.-Background and education:...
to add luxury fittings to a batch of Austin A105 Westminster
Austin Westminster
The Westminster series were large saloon and estate cars sold by the British Austin Motor Company from 1954, replacing the A70 Hereford. The Westminster line was produced as the A90, A95, A99, A105, and A110 until 1968 when the new Austin 3-Litre took its place...
cars, beginning the practice of using the company's skills and name for badge engineered (and genuinely improved) luxury versions of many of the BMC (and later British Leyland (BL)) cars such as the 1100/1300
BMC ADO16
ADO16 is the codename for the development of what became the Morris 1100, a small family car built by the British Motor Corporation and, later, British Leyland...
range and the Allegro
Austin Allegro
The Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...
(known as the Vanden Plas 1500 and 1700). The proposed Vanden Plas version of the Marina
Morris Marina
The Morris Marina is a car which was manufactured by the Morris division of British Leyland in the UK throughout the 1970s, which was a period of great turbulence and difficulty for the British car industry. It was known in some markets as the Austin Marina, Leyland Marina, and Morris 1.7...
did not go into production.
From 1985 to 1989, Austin Rover made upmarket Vanden Plas models within its Metro, Maestro
Austin Maestro
The Austin Maestro is a compact-sized 5-door hatchback car that was produced from 1983 to 1994, initially by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and from 1988 onwards by its successor, Rover Group. The car was produced at the former Morris plant in Cowley, Oxford. It was initially...
and Montego
Austin Montego
The Austin Montego is a British mid-size saloon car that was produced by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland , and its successors, from 1984 until 1994. The Montego was the replacement for the Morris Ital, to give British Leyland a modern competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall...
ranges; a limited edition of 500 only models were produced at Longbridge called the Austin Metro VP 500. The name is now used only on North American Jaguar cars.
In 1992, a Japanese company recreated the Vanden Plas 1100/1300 look on the Nissan Micra K11. This involved replicating the front and rear of the Vanden Plas, complete with two tone paint scheme as sported by the original model in the 1960s.
Daimler
Daimler DS420
The Daimler DS420, popularly known as the Daimler Limousine, is a large limousine produced by Daimler Motor Company between 1968 and 1992. The vehicles are used extensively as official state cars in several countries, including by the British and Danish Royal Families...
Limousine (Jaguar had acquired Daimler
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
in 1960) built by Vanden Plas on a lengthened Jaguar Mark X
Jaguar Mark X
The Jaguar Mark X was the top-of-the-range saloon car built by the British manufacturer Jaguar, originally aimed at the United States market. The Mark X succeeded the Mark IX as the company's large saloon model.-Body:...
platform. The DS420 was produced at the Kingsbury Lane Vanden Plas factory until it closed in November 1979.
The overall holding company board decided in 1967 there was insufficient in the group advertising budget to cope with marketing the Daimler brand in North America as well as Jaguar. This decision was later changed but Vanden Plas is used in North America instead of Daimler on Jaguar's top luxury models. Ownership of the Vanden Plas name stayed with the Rover Group
Rover Group
The Rover Group plc was the name given in 1986 to the British state-owned vehicle manufacturer previously known as British Leyland or BL. Owned by British Aerospace from 1988 to 1994, when it was sold to BMW, the Group was broken up in 2000 with the Rover and MG marques being acquired by the MG...
, and Jaguar was obliged to stop using it in the United Kingdom, though it continues to do so in America. Within the UK a Daimler Double-Six Vanden Plas became a Daimler Double Six.
The last UK market British car to bear the Vanden Plas name was the Rover 75
Rover 75
The Rover 75 is an executive car produced initially by the Rover Group at Cowley, Oxfordshire, UK, and later by MG Rover at their Longbridge site in Birmingham, UK...
.
China
The rights to the design of the Rover 75 cars and the MG Group (which had formerly been MG Rover) were purchased by a Chinese firm, Nanjing Automobile. Ford purchased the Rover name from the Rover Group's previous owner BMWBMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
to protect the Land Rover brand from Shanghai Automotive who wanted the Rover name for their 75-based car (Ford was at this time owner of Land Rover — and Jaguar). The Vanden Plas name (for outside North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
) and many other Leyland names were purchased by Nanjing Automobile.
See also
- Austin PrincessAustin PrincessThe Princess was a distinctive series of large luxury cars made by Austin and its subsidiary Vanden Plas from 1947 to 1968. However:The Princess name was later also used as follows:...
- List of automobile manufacturers