THE coachbuilding firm of Carrosserie Van den Plas was formed in Belgium in 1898 by Guillaume van den Plas and his three sons, Antoine, Henri and Willy, with bases in Antwerp and Brussels. An English subsidiary was established in 1913, named Vanden Plas (England) Ltd. However, following the 1914-1918 War, this firm gradually foundered, entering receivership in 1923. A manager at Vanden Plas, Edwin Fox (along with his brothers Alfred and Frank) successfully acquired the name and goodwill of the company, relaunching it as Vanden Plas (England) 1923 Ltd with Alfred as chairman and Edwin as managing director.

in 1946 Austin’s Leonard Lord made an offer of £90,000 for the company. Lord was looking for someone to design and build the bodywork for Austin’s new six-cylinder chassis, and saw Vanden Plas as the ideal candidate. The Fox family accepted his offer, and Vanden Plas became a subsidiary of Austin, with Lord taking over as chairman and managing director, while Edwin and Roland Fox became directors, along with Austin’s George Harriman. From 1963, and the launch of the 1100, Vanden Plas' role within BMC was revised, becoming a marque that delivered luxury versions of mainstream cars - a policy that culminated in the Allegro-shaped Vanden Plas 1.5/1.7...