Cars fit for Royalty…

It’s widely documented that the Queen enjoys a Land Rover. And not only is she well-versed in the merits of diff locks and low-range ratios, Her Maj is also pretty handy with a socket set; having joined the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1945, training as a driver and mechanic, she drove military trucks and was never happier than when she was elbows-deep in oily transfer cases.

Beyond the rugged Landies though, royal cars are always Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, aren’t they? Posh, achingly British things to cosset and caress the royal family from one swanky engagement to the next? Er, no, actually… there’s a rich history of peculiar automobiles associated with this charmingly oddball family – here we gather together five of our favourites…

Reliant Scimitar

We have to begin with a massive, heartfelt apology to every single Scimitar owner in the UK and beyond. It’s the bane of their lives, the relentless Princess Anne comments. The reference has become so ubiquitous that it’s passed through cliché, irony, parody and right back into straight-down-the-line pithiness again: if you own a Reliant Scimitar, every single time you park up and get out – without fail – somebody will come up to you and say ‘Ooh, Princess Anne had one of those’.

To be fair though, she did. There’s no arguing with that. And not just one… in fact, since 1970 she’s owned an impressive eight of the things, and to this day she still trundles about in a sumptuously appointed Middlebridge Scimitar. Urban myths abound concerning the numerous times she’s been stopped for speeding in her various Reliants (legend suggests that in one particular week in 1972 she was pulled over on two separate occasions, in the same place, by the same policeman…), and the real gift she’s given to motoring posterity is the phrase ‘Princess Anne had one of those’. It’s a Pavlovian compulsion whenever you see a Scimitar. You can’t not say it.

Ford Escort RS Turbo

When you’re discussing royal cars over a pint of Old Thumbsmasher in the saloon bar of the Fox and Thundercats, it’s unlikely that anyone will pipe up with the idea of a 1980s hot hatch being a contender for the shortlist. But in fact, the Series 1 RS Turbo is one of the more celebrated royal cars among those in the know: not just for the fact that Princess Diana had one, but because hers was black.

Why is this so significant? Well, Ford only sold the S1 RST in Diamond White… C515 DYT was painted black specially for Diana – this car had a black paint code on the slam panel plate and the paperwork, and was the only non-white example officially built. Or so some would have you believe! Prince Michael of Kent also had a black RS Turbo (B444 AAR), although there’s some debate over whether his was repainted from white. Does it matter? Probably not. Spectacularly cool choice of regal runabout, isn’t it? It may have ruffled a few feathers when Diana started getting spotted out and about in a drop-top Audi in 1994, but as we can see she was showcasing her petrolhead credentials long before that.

Lincoln Cosmopolitan Bubble-top

Snakes alive, what an utterly ludicrous machine this is. Admittedly this was a car offered to the Queen on a state visit rather than being one of her own fleet, but we couldn’t omit it from this round-up because, quite frankly, it’s one of the greatest achievements of design and engineering in the entire history of mankind. Just look at it, it’s completely absurd.

The back-story goes that back in the early 1950s, President Harry S. Truman had a bit of a beef with General Motors and opted to use Lincolns as his state vehicles; the White House drafted in a fleet of shiny new Cosmopolitans (all hardtops save for one convertible) and set about decking them out with sumptuous interiors and extra headroom to accommodate the amusingly tall hats that were fashionable at the time. When Dwight D. Eisenhower took over the Presidency, he saw fit to affix a Plexiglass bubble-top to the convertible, and it was this car that he laid on for Queen Elizabeth II when she visited in 1957. Plenty of room for crown-wearing under that dome, plus it doesn’t matter if it rains. Well, not if you’re sitting at the back anyway.

Citroën SM Opera Présidentielle

The Citroën SM is one of the all-time good ideas: take the wacky hydropneumatic underpinnings of the revered DS, clothe it all in a gloriously of-its-time wedge-shaped and sylph-like coupé body, and then shove a Maserati V6 in there for good measure. What’s not to like?

But if you’re thinking this is the sort of perfection it’s impossible to improve upon, you haven’t reckoned on the ingenuity of French Président Georges Pompidou. He saw fit to commission Henri Chapron’s troop of artisans to massively stretch the wheelbase, chop off the roof, and add in a couple of extra doors. Why? So that when Queen Elizabeth II came over for tea in 1972, she could have something suitably eye-catching to be swished around Paris in. What a magnificently nutty idea this was. What’s most impressive is that this is almost certainly the only Maserati-engined car ever to have its transmission modified to allow it to travel really, really slowly.

Aston Martin DB6

While the Aston Martin DB5 will always be indelibly inked in the annals of 007 lore, the DB6 will forever be the royal David Brown car… or at least, it should be. You see, Prince Charles has owned his delectable DB6 since his 21st birthday, when it was bought for him by some doting benefactor in a shiny crown. And while other cars have come and gone in the Prince’s life, he’s hung steadfastly onto his DB6 through thick-and-thin; he let Prince William borrow it when he got married, but obviously he wasn’t silly enough to let the boy keep it.

Of course, Charles is a forward-thinker. A keen and outspoken proponent of environmental issues and eco concerns, it arguably doesn’t sit all that well with his principles that he’d be driving about in an inefficient old sports car. So his solution is to run it on wine.

Yes, you did read that correctly: Prince Charles’s Aston Martin is fuelled by wine. And while that might sound like a disgustingly opulent parody from a fairy-tale, it actually makes a lot of sense – the car runs on bioethanol distilled from excess wine produced near his Highgrove estate. That’s the kind of environmentally-friendly motoring we should all aspire to.