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Chris had two reasons for buying his Cashmere Gold Austin Metro Vanden Plas. Firstly, he is a fan of the Kingsbury-based coachbuilder, and also owns a VDP 1500. Secondly, he has also been a Metro enthusiast ‘since the launch at the NEC in 1980...queuing up at the stand waiting to sit in this award-winning car’.

When BL unveiled the Mini Metro some 40 years ago, the range was topped by the well-appointed HLS version. However, there was a feeling at Longbridge that the line-up had further scope and so the Vanden Plas made its bow in April 1982. It was the first of three new upmarket Metro versions for that year; the newly-formed Austin-Rover division launched the MG 1300 in May followed by the MG Turbo five months later.

The timing of the VDP was perfect, capturing the tail-end of the Sloane Ranger era and the rise of the Yuppie.  It was, according to British Leyland, ‘as much a means of expression as a means of transport’. After all, ‘you only live once’. The sales guide stated that the Vanden Plas was ‘aimed at the growing number of motorists seeking big car luxury, comfort and refinement together with small car economy, drivability and low cost of ownership’.

BL priced the Vanden Plas at a very reasonable £4,994.54, and the latest Metro was an undeniably attractive package. The cabin was decorated with wood door cappings and “Raschelle” trimmed seats – a world apart from the entry-level City, which was devoid of a rear parcel shelf and a passenger sun visor. The VDP’s exterior featured an elaborate grille and hubcaps, while the owner could enjoy a glass sunroof, bronze-tinted windows and a leather-clad steering wheel.

In short, a Metro Vanden Plas was the ideal alternative to the Ford Fiesta Ghia Mk.I as a genuinely chic runabout. It was also very much in the tradition of the Riley Elf and the Wolseley Hornet as the perfect small car for creating a (mild) stir at the village fete. For some unaccountable reason, this writer imagines the Shake N’Vac lady driving a Metro VDP when she was not dancing in her living room -

Austin-Rover face lifted the Metro in late 1984 and surviving examples of the Mk. I are now scarce. Chris is ‘getting used to the four gears again after 30-odd years with five’ while A 418 KFC more than lives up to his expectations. He sums up the VDP’s appeal as ‘a good 3 door hatchback with a slightly sporty performance with the A+ engine and comfort of a more expensive car’.  And as for his plans for the Metro – ‘it is my first one and I hope to keep her for a long time’.

WITH THANKS TO – CHRIS FIGG

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