- A one-off Landaulet edition of the Lexus LS 600h hybrid will take center stage at the July 2 wedding of Monaco's Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock.
- The converted LS 600h L will be able to operate in pure-electric mode for most of the newlyweds' tour of the Principality.
- The Lexus Landaulet features a one-piece transparent polycarbonate roof.
MONACO — His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, a longtime supporter of green causes, will make his July 2 wedding tour of the Principality in a one-off Lexus LS 600h L Landaulet.
The converted LS 600h hybrid features a one-piece transparent polycarbonate roof and will be able to operate in pure electric mode for most of the trip.
The Landaulet will serve as the official Royal Wedding car at the marriage of Prince Albert to Charlene Wittstock.
The conversion was performed in Belgium by coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet, which has made its mark over the past four decades by building armored and extended vehicles for royal families, heads of state and what the firm calls "VVIPs."
Carat Duchatelet worked closely with Lexus engineers to develop the reinforced body structure of Kevlar and carbon fiber. After the bodywork was finished, the Royal Wedding LS 600h L Landaulet was finished in Midnight Blue, applied manually using several coats of a bespoke, environmentally friendly water-based paint.
Lexus said the project required more than 2,000 hours to complete.
Inside Line says: Not nearly as sexy as the vintage Aston that Prince William and his bride recently took for a post-nuptial spin.
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qdp says:
02:15 PM, 06/28/2011
Well, there are always people who try to compare up Hyundai to Honda or Lexus . Just look at what Hyundai is doing: games EPA rules to inflate MPGs and copy MB exterior design for Equues'.
93aero says:
02:23 AM, 06/28/2011
Not to be blatantly rude, but how in the heck has Lexus redefined anything!? Even in recent years, they have sat in the background and the LS/ES/GS/IS continue to show their age. You could say that they are what cars aspire for, but the only ones playing into that card are Hyundai...and they picked a fairly easy target in the luxury game to beat out, because even the Equus shows, its no where near the level of Audi or MB (There is good reason a 34K Genesis beat out the LS at half the price)
The simple truth is that there is just one reason why they just can't compete with the Europeans.....its because NO ONE can. They make better cars than everyone, and they always will. The Japanese come closer with Infiniti than they do with Lexus to being on par. America would have no luxury cars to speak of if Cadillac wasn't around. And Europe has so many makes it hard to believe we buy cars from anywhere else.
qdp says:
05:29 PM, 06/27/2011
It makes a great sense to choose this type of green car for the event, extremely quiet, smooth, and far less polution to the audience. Besides, the Lexus redefines what the Luxuy cars are like, which have been dominated by European brands for so long.
blackdynamite0 says:
11:35 AM, 06/27/2011
For Princes only
BD