26 April 2011

By Royal Appointment - Royal Family Cars

By no means an exhaustive list of the Royal family's cars; just thought I'd post some of the more fascinating ones.
The Queen's own cars are provided for use on official engagements and state visits and are unique in the fact that they are not required to display any registration number on the front or rear of the vehicle (great for speed cameras!) Although the Daimler Limo's and the monarch's personal vehicles and those belonging to other members of the Royal Family do display registration numbers.

2002 Bentley State Limousine, the first ever in the Queen's fleet; Daimlers and Rollers were the usual order of play. For the Queen's 50th anniversary, a new hand built 'processional limousine' was constructed by Park Ward. It was used for the opening of the Manchester Commenwealth Games. It was based on a lengthened and widened Arnage platform, and powered by a Zytec-developed edition of the familiar twin-turbo 6.75 litre V8; two were built.
The Queen has her own mascot for use on the state cars. The photo shows the Bentley carrying the unique mascot of St. George slaying the dragon. The Queen uses the Lion mascot in Scotland.



H J Mulliner bodied 1950 Rolls Royce Royal Phantom IV (5.7 Litre Straight 8)
(This Rolls Royce was purchased by Princess Elizabeth in 1950, and became a state car upon her accession to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II in 1952)



H J Mulliner bodied 1950 Rolls Royce Royal Phantom IV (5.7 Litre Straight 8)
& Rolls-Royce Phantom VI State Limousine:



Rolls-Royce Phantom VI State Limousine. There two; a normal roofed one and a raised roof, (no doubt for the toppers, ma'am) The one with its raised roof and enlarged glazed area was presented to The Queen to celebrate her Silver Jubilee in 1977.



'61 Phantom V high-roof:



1954 Queen Elizabeth II Land Rover 'State IV'. Great for when HRH is doing AWDC events:


King George VI's Ford Pilot Shooting Brake:




Royal hooper built 1935 Daimler; King George VI owned one, although this one was actually Emporer Hirohito's. Frightfully gangster.



Prince Charles' Aston DB6; a wedding present from his Mum. Bless. After 38 years, the car was converted to run on 100% bioethanol  distilled from surplus British wine. No doubt excellent if you need to siphon some off for anther in the Royal fleet. Hic.



Proof that even the Duke Of Edinburgh has one redeeming feature; this was his Alvis TD21 Mulliner Park Ward Drophead Coupe:



And his 1956 Ford Zephyr estate, the first modern production estate (as opposed to a special-bodied "shooting brake") owned by the Royal Family:


The Scimitar GTE was a favourite mode of transport for Princess Anne, who had her first one for her 20th Birthday and has had another 8 GTE's since (and currently owns a Middlebridge Scimitar). It offered Princess Anne high speed motoring (as she famously found out by getting caught speeding in it) and had plenty of room for the Princess's horse riding equipment. here she is going for an early morning burn-up. Watch those Gatsos ma'am.

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