Top 5 cars owned by Queen Elizabeth
To celebrate Queen’s Birthday long weekend in New Zealand we’re revisiting royal cars, especially those owned by her Majesty.
Protocol dictates that Queen Elizabeth should be chauffeured wherever she goes but one of the things she enjoys is driving herself, usually around her estates.
Her love for cars can be traced back to World War II and she was a member of the Women's Auxiliary Service and doubled as a mechanic. Her NZ$20 million car collection has an eclectic array of vehicles, from the usual suspects of Rolls-Royces and Range Rovers to a few you wouldn’t expect, including the American car we featured recently.
Here are my top 5 cars owned by Queen Elizabeth.
1953 Land Rover Series 1
The Land Rover Series 1 has become highly collectable, and iconic. Photo: Lan Rover
The 1953 Land Rover Series 1 was ahead of its time with the design and performance it offered. Queen Elizabeth’s love for the Land Rover is well documented.
The Series 1 was conceived at the end of World War II The initial vehicle had a 1.6-litre engine and came with a four-speed gearbox. There were improved changes every year with the Series 1, which opened the doors for Land Rover as a company. In 1992, the company claimed that 70 per cent of all Series 1s built were still functioning.
1956 Ford Zephyr Estate
This is an upmarket version of the Ford Zephyr Estate. Photo: Pinterest
The 1956 Ford Zephyr Estate was produced between 1950 and 1972. The initial Ford Zephyr had a superior 6-cylinder engine offering. It wasn't until 1962 that Ford offered the Zephyr with either the 4-cylinder or the 6-cylinder engine.
The Zephyr, together with the Executive and the Zodiac, was the largest passenger car in Britain during the 1950s. The Queen owns the upmarket Executive, which included the final months of production of the Ford Zephyr Estate.
1961 Vauxhall Cresta Estate
Among the Rolls-Royces is a humble Vauxhall. Photo: Supplied
Her Majesty has a fleet of very expensive vehicles but still keeps the humble Vauxhall Cresta Estate.
The car was produced between 1954 and 1972 by Vauxhall. The Cresta was sold as an upmarket version and was to replace the Vauxhall Velox. Queen Elizabeth owns the Cresta PA SY, which was produced between 1957 and 1962. The car was inexpensive and was meant to compete with the likes of Buicks and Cadillacs at that time.
1925 Rolls-Royce Twenty
Less than 3000 Roll-Royce Twenty cars were produced. Photo: flickr
This is a rare collectible owned by Queen Elizabeth II. The car was produced by Rolls-Royce between 1922 and 1929. It was manufactured alongside the Silver Ghost, which is another rare vehicle owned by Her Majesty.
The Twenty was designed by Sir Henry Royce and was a small car, targeting drivers but a big number ended up being purchased by people with personal chauffeurs.
There were only 2940 units of the Rolls-Royce Twenty ever produced.
Range Rover Landaulet
When one wants a landaulet, one gets one. Photo: Pinterest
Chances are, you've never heard of such a vehicle and that is because only Her Majesty uses it. Queen Elizabeth first made a public appearance in the vehicle in 2015 at an official function. She wanted a modern landaulet, so Land Rover transformed a Range Rover into one. A landaulet is a car body style where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top.
