Connexion G

Fiat/Bertone X1/9
Vanden Plas Princess
Ford Cortina 2.0 Ghia

Each of these three cars carries the badge of a respected European coachbuilder, with varying degrees of significance.

The Fiat/Bertone X1/9 probably has the greatest claim to legitimacy here. It was designed and built by Bertone, one of Italy's most prominent Carrozzeria.

The Vanden Plas Princess was, in truth, an agrandised Morris 1100 (which, incidentally, was styled by another leading Italian Carrozzeria, Pinifarina). By the time of its introduction, Vanden Plas had long been a part of the Austin-Morris/BMC empire. Although the Vanden Plas plant at Kingsbury, north London, was still manufacturing Austin limousines at this time, much of its work involved the re-trimming of volume produced models. Nevertheless, for the majority of the Princess 1100/1300's production life, it can at least be said that it earned its badge by the direct involvement of Vanden Plas craftsmen in its preparation.

Then we have the Ford Cortina Ghia, a true case of "badge engineering". Like Bertone, Ghia had also been one of the great Italian coachbuilders, but following its acquisition in 1972, Ford saw fit to dilute the cachet of the Ghia badge by applying it to all its top-spec models, from the Fiesta to the Granada, without the cars ever actually seeing the inside of Ghia's Italian studios.