When it comes to car buyers, there are likely few more discerning than Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, but it seems Land Rover was up to the challenge of fitting her unique requirements.
A new “State Review” Range Rover hybrid debuted recently in a ceremony in which the queen presented “new colors” to the Royal Welsh Regiment in Cardiff, Wales. The new vehicle is certainly up to the task of looking stately at official functions.
Based on the long-wheelbase Range Rover, the State Review vehicle has a roof opening that allows the queen to, err, review things. It also features a diesel-hybrid powertrain.
Land Rover didn’t divulge any specifics, but the diesel hybrid Range Rover it sells to non-royals features a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 and eight-speed automatic transmission with an electric motor, producing a combined 336 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque.
In standard guise, Land Rover claims the Range Rover hybrid will do 0 to 60 mph in 6.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 135 mph. The State Review Range Rover probably takes a little bit longer.
U.S. buyers looking to entertain fantasies of nobility will be disappointed to know that the Range Rover hybrid isn’t sold on this side of the pond, although a non-hybrid diesel model was displayed at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show and is expected to go on sale here at some point.
Just as U.S. Secret Service tends to chauffeur presidents in Cadillacs and Lincolns, the Royal Family has a longstanding relationship with Land Rover. The Range Rover Hybrid is the fourth State Review vehicle built by the company, the first being a 1953 Series I. The new model replaces one based on a 2002 Range Rover.
It may not have the street presence of “The Beast” — President Barack Obama’s armored Cadillac limousine — but the Range Rover can ford a river if the queen decides to take a particularly scenic route.
Not that you’d want to get any of that shiny paintwork dirty.
