Cars of the Royal Wedding: It was a British classic car show
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That was quite a fleet of classic British cars hauling the blue bloods around London today for the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William.
The prize for oldest ride went to the father of the groom, Prince Charles, and wife Camilla. They rode to Westminster Abbey the Queen's Rolls-Royce Phantom IV built in 1950. This crown jewel, the oldest in the fleet of State cars, was built for then-Princess Elizabeth. Rolls reportedly built only 18 in all. It marked the first Rolls for the Royals, who had been Daimler people since cars replaced horses.
The bodywork is by H.J. Mulliner and it's powered by a 5.76-liter straight eight engine, The car was delivered in green and repainted in the royal claret and black when the Princess became Queen in 1952
Photo gallery: Cars and carriages of the Royal Wedding, more galleries from the day
The bride and her father rode in the 1977 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI we told you about earlier here that was given to the Queen by the British auto industry on her Silver (25th) Jubilee.
The most unique rides were the pair of custom Bentleys that transported the Queen and Prince Philip and Princes William and Harry.The first was presented to the Queen in 2002 on her Golden (50th) Jubilee and there are no others like these two. They were the Royals first Bentleys. Based on an Arnage and powered by the same 6.75-liter V-8 with General Motors transmission, they are about 40 inches longer at 245 in., on a huge 151 in. wheelbase. The custom body includes rear-hinged rear doors and a roof with removable panels over a clear bubble.
Wrapping up the day, Prince William borrowed his father's car to take his bride for a ride: The rare 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Volante MKII that the Queen gave Prince Charles on his 21st birthday. The Seychelles blue roadster is one of just 38 that were built with the high-performance 4.0-liter, 325 hp. straight six.
The eco-minded Prince has had it converted to run on ethanol made from wine. Some might say that's a better use for British wine than drinking it -- but it's because of EU winemaking quotas. Excess production goes to a biofuels maker to be distilled into fuel
It's a comedown after these classics, but the rest of the couple families had to make do with a Jaguar XJL (the bride's mom and brother) and the palace fleet's Volkswagen Crafter buses (the rest of the senior Royals, in a money-saving nod to Britain's current economic troubles).
See photos of: Volkswagen Group, Prince William, Royal Wedding, Kate Middleton
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