Howards Heritage (translation)

An American is after "Big Money" with the car of a deceased billionaire.

Howard Hughes, the eccentric who died in 1976 with a gigantic heritage, makes headlines even after his death. Because this American, who lived absolutely hidden, and who owned many hotels and casinos in the gambling town of Las Vegas, obviously left a few cars behind as well.

One of those was acquired by a young yoga-teacher from the celebrities quarter of Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. The buyer, Bikram Choudhury, does not want to disclose the purchase price of this British giant-vehicle, which goes under the exact name of Daimler VandenPlas Limousine. He has a good reason not to do so, because he now wants to put this nice piece from the British Leyland Group up for sale for a clear sum of (converted) well over 400,000 German Marks.

[translator's note: when Europe introduced the Euro in Jan. 2002, one Mark was 0.5 Euros]

The teacher justifies the hefty price of this Luxury car -powered by a 4.2 Liter Jaguar engine- by stating that "Hughes was one of the richest and most famous persons in America, and such a connection just has its price".

Maybe this exaggerated price is influenced by an accessory that even on the American market is not an everyday feature. This Hughes' car, built in 1970, contains besides many other "special design" items a toilet that discretely hides under the cushion of one of the rear seats.

Up till now, even financially very strong car-lovers have not been convinced by these arguments. Because a brand new VandenPlas only costs 100,000 Marks, but that won't have a toilet.

[caption with the photo: Hoping for Big Money: VandenPlas owner Choudhury]

[translator's note: this article dates from 1982. At that moment this car was 10½ years old.]