File talk:Princess IV 3995cc, April 1958.jpg

Princess Mk IV

This looks to me like a Princess Mk IV. The Mk IV got a completely new body with integrated fenders, lower bonnet line and a one-piece windscreen. The car was introduced in 1956 as the Austin Princess Mk IV. In August 1957 the Austin badge was dropped as Princess became a make of its own and the car was then called the Princess Mk IV until production halted in 1959. Judging from the letter “P” on the hub caps, the absence of a flying “A” ornament on top of the radiator and the registration date in April 1958, the car on the photo ought to be a Princess, not an Austin.

According to Graham Robson’s The Cars of BMC (ISBN 1-988970-41-5) a mere 200 cars were built between 1956 and 1959. A major cash cow for BMC? Probably not… -- Herranderssvensson (talk) 07:11, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you. Interesting.

If I understand you correctly, both cars Austin Princess (Vanden Plas) Mk IV and Princess (Vanden Plas) Mk IV had the same body and the same one-piece windscreen. And both presumably had the same engine. To spell out the question forming in my head, can you tell from Robson (or any other source) if anything changed in August 1957 apart from the name? And thank you again. Regards Charles01 (talk) 08:46, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Apart from losing the Austin name and emblems the car remained identical. “Purely a badge-engineering exercise”, according to Robson. The long wheelbase limousine underwent the same procedure in August 1957, re-badging from an Austin Princess limo to simply a Princess limo. And then, in mid-1960 it was re-badged once again, becoming a Vanden Plas Princess limo as Vanden Plas became a separate make. Still without any other modifications. But by then the Mk IV had already been replaced by the ADO 10 based 3-litre. -- Herranderssvensson (talk) 11:00, 22 October 2011 (UTC)

Thank you again. Best wishes Charles01 (talk) 13:41, 22 October 2011 (UTC)