Produced between 1974 and 1979, the Vanden Plas 1500 and 1750 models were upmarket versions of the Austin Allegro which had first appeared in 1973. Allegros manufactured at the British Leyland factory in Longbridge, Birmingham, were sent to the Vanden Plas factory in Kingsbury, North London, to be fitted with a luxurious interior featuring leather seats, wall to wall carpeting, a walnut dashboard and walnut picnic tables. They also featured a new bonnet panel allowing for a prominent chrome grille.
BL's marketing men went to great lengths to distinguish the Vanden Plas models from the rest of the Allegro range, never badging or referring to them as Allegros. "Luxurious yet unostentatious, powerful yet economical, the Vanden Plas 1500 is truly a car for the discriminating motorist," claimed the sales brochure. "Totally international in concept, it is equally at home in Rome or Paris or Vienna - yet its distinctive air of good breeding is unmistakably British." As with the Allegro, the bodyshell was suspended using the new Hydragas suspension system (derived from the previous Hydrolastic system used on the 1100/1300) which endowed the car with an outstanding ride.
First registered in 1979, this particular Vanden Plas 1500 had just one Hereford owner from new until 2006 and has had only one keeper since. Attractively finished in Reynard metallic paint with Deep Olive leather trim, the car has covered just 23,000 miles from new and is said to be in outstanding condition throughout. Recently fitted with four new tyres and a new battery, it is said to drive perfectly and is quite possibly the finest example left in existence.
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