Autoblog

The Royals make an appearance in CARS 2

John Neff — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Toys/Games, Celebrities

More new CARS 2 characters from England - Click above to view them all!

The real Royal Family may be grabbing all the headlines today with the wedding of their Prince William to commoner Kate Middleton, but another Royal Family deserves some attention as well. We've learned that Pixar will be introducing a new Royal Family in CARS 2, set to open in theaters nationwide on June 24th.

The Royal Family in CARS 2 will be represented by The Queen (voiced by Vanessa Redgrave) and Prince Wheeliam. The Queen appears to be a stately old Rolls-Royce of sorts with a diamond-encrusted crown on her roof and royal blue-and-white two-tone paint job. Prince Wheelium, meanwhile, appears as a sharp Bentley Continental GT-like machine. Both Royal Family members in CARS 2 are particularly excited to play their part as hosts to the final stage of the World Grand Prix on the streets of London.

Joining them on screen are a few more Brits, including a double-decker bus named Topper Deckington III, a traditional London cab named Chauncy Fares and a royal guard named Sgt. Highgear. Check out all five new characters in our gallery below. All of the English automobiles in CARS 2 will no doubt be rooting for one of their countrymen, either Lewis Hamilton or Nigel Gearsley, to take the checkered flag in the World Grand Prix.

Gallery: CARS 2 Characters

The Royals make an appearance in CARS 2 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Reigning monarchs cannot be found guilty of motoring infractions in UK

Zach Bowman — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:29:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Celebrities, Humor

As much as it runs against our colonial grain to say this, there are some perks to being a monarch. Aside from having an entire kingdom crammed full of palaces and an army of staff just waiting to cater to your every whim, you're evidently also free from prosecution under your country's courts. At least in the United Kingdom. As it turns out, Queen Elizabeth II can't be cited for traffic violations like, say, not wearing her seatbelt - something she was just caught doing. Why? Since the courts are conducted in her name, she would essentially be trying herself. You can see where that might become a bit of a sticky wicket.

Interestingly enough, the Queen isn't required to have a driver's license or to register her vehicle, either. Considering that Her Majesty enjoys spending time behind the wheel, those are both pretty good perks to have. Her custom 2001 Jaguar XJ8 recently cropped up for sale for close to $100,000, though it appears she's still driving a Daimler Super 8.

[Source: The Daily Mail I Image: Eliot Press//bauergriffinonline.com]

PSA: Reigning monarchs cannot be found guilty of motoring infractions in UK originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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From Royal Blue to Green: the Queen retrofits her Bentleys to run on bio-fuel

Noah Joseph — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Green, Bentley, Celebrities

Click above to view the Bentley State Limousine in our hi-res gallery

Britain's royal family may not have the power to legislate any new initiatives, green or otherwise, but the heads of state still wield influence over public opinion and have taken up the cause of environmentally-conscious motoring. Following the lead of her son and heir Charles, the Prince of Wales - who had his Aston Martin converted to run on old wine and his Range Rover, Jaguar and Audi to run on discarded cooking oil - Queen Elizabeth II is having her bespoke Bentley limos converted to run on bio-fuels.

The Bentley State Limousine is based on the Arnage, but custom-crafted in-house by the company's Mulliner coachbuilding division. Only two were ever made, at a reported cost of over $14 million a piece, one of which was presented as a gift to Her Majesty upon her Golden Jubilee in 2002, while the second was commissioned by the crown as a back-up. The four-ton armored vehicles, continuously maintained by Bentley, are powered by the company's perennial 6.75-liter V8 producing 400 horsepower, and will be converted to run on bio-fuel. Bentley says the royal family are big supporters of Crewe's initiative to switch to bio-fuels, as Bentley aims to offer all its models with flex-fuel capacity by 2012.

Gallery: 2002 Bentley State Limousine

[Source: The Daily Mail via Luxist]

From Royal Blue to Green: the Queen retrofits her Bentleys to run on bio-fuel originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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