London’s poshest black cab tested: VIP super-luxury taxi takes us Christmas shopping
Mike Rutherford tries out a £100k VIP Taxi from luxury dealer Clive Sutton to hand over festive gifts to some very special recipients
I have previous with London’s black taxis and the hard-nosed, fast-talking professionals who drive them for a living. And before someone corrects me, yes I am well aware that such vehicles are available in other colours and cities. I also know that cabbies – God bless their cotton socks – really can be kind, considerate and generous souls, as you’ll soon discover.
From London to Glasgow and all stops in between, I’ve travelled in the back of cabs of all ages and mileages, to radio and TV stations or airports in the early morning, or back home from parties, concerts and weddings after midnight.
But on what was the worst, most traumatic night of my life, in February 2012, I was very much alone and in desperate need of a ride home from a London hospital at around 3.00am. Licensed, award-winning cabbie Johnny H was the only available person willing and able to transport me – in his creaky black taxi. An hour or so later, after dropping me off at my door and learning about my 24 hours from hell, he flatly refused to accept payment. Or a tip. Or even a quick mug of tea before his empty, 4.30am drive back to London.
He and I stayed in touch, and have been pals since. I even bought one of his old Austin FX4 cabs from him, prior to using it as a tired, tatty but effective runabout when commuting through London.
So could someone like me, who loves a black cab in its purest of forms, be equally positive about driving or travelling in the back of one priced in £100,000-£150,000 territory? This is the sort of wedge you’ll need if you’re after a brand-new VIP Taxi built to your specification by the bespoke coachbuilding division of luxury car specialist Clive Sutton, based near London’s Regent's Park.
Sutton claims that its VIP Taxis are the world’s most luxurious cabs. The buyers it's targeting are wealthy business men and women, professional sports people, entertainment industry folk and others keen to keep beneath the radar as they’re driven by personal chauffeurs or close protection officers. Safety and security concerns mean that flashy sports cars, SUVs or saloons are losing their appeal among some of those in the rich and famous league. It's a sign of the troubled times.
The appeal of the VIP Taxi, built to the needs and tastes of the wealthy individual, is two-fold: first comes its deliberately understated exterior, which looks just like any other LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) TX cab – because that’s what each Sutton VIP Taxi is based upon. And it has a standard TX hybrid power pack, too.
Next is the second and more interesting bit – the passenger compartment. This can include as much or as little bling as the buyer desires.
The demo model you see here is fitted with two private jet-like heated reclining seats that almost convert into single beds, pop-up tables or desks, a large TV screen, a fridge, and integrated light show. It has an Alcantara finish throughout and the sort of ambience I’ve previously only experienced in Bentleys and Rolls-Royces, or other extreme luxury models I’ve been fortunate enough to test drive over the years.
The customer chooses the passenger compartment configuration that best suits their needs. Some go for a lounge feel, others an office environment and a handful seek a bedroom on wheels, apparently.
Our tasteful test vehicle had just two seats in the back, so we enjoyed spaciousness that few if any luxury saloons or large SUVs are able to provide. After all, Clive Sutton reckons wealthy customers remain in the back, and never venture up to the relatively unremarkable cabin.
I did, of course, and found it tighter than expected but comfortable enough, offering great front and side vision when I drove the cab in London’s West End on what was supposed to be one of the quietest weekdays in November. However, due to everything from unfathomable road closures and streets designed to fail the humble car driver, our average speed was around 5mph – not that different to a brisk walking pace.
That’s why I chose to spend much of my time in the rear of the VIP Taxi, sampling its classy comfort, leaving my old mate Johnny H to take over the driving. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel on everything from the Volkswagen Group corporate jet for supervisory board members to Cathay Pacific First Class out of Hong Kong in my career, and the interior of the taxi we tried was of similar quality and opulence. Yes, it really is that good.
The idea of stopping for sandwiches and drinks to have in the back was aborted when I, Johnny and photographer Stan decided that the interior was so light, clean and pristine that we’d never forgive ourselves for spilling tea and coffee inside it. So we ‘dined’ instead in true cabbie style, at a roadside cafe just off Berkeley Square.
Our next stop in the West End was a very special place called Paul’s House, just off Tottenham Court Road and right next door to University College London Hospital (UCLH). The Georgian mini mansion is a priceless home-from-home for young cancer patients, and is where my son, Marcus, lived as he bravely battled leukaemia.
It seemed only right that we should deliver the £20,000 worth of gift cards that the Marcus Rutherford Foundation has just bought, from the back of the VIP Taxi parked outside Paul’s House. This is where Very Important Patients stay, and the cards were given to Eric Coates – the loyal, loved and hugely trusted manager there – to be handed to youngsters living with cancer this Christmas.
Yet wherever we stopped in The West End, whether on roads with Christmas lights, squares with eateries like our favourite café, residential properties such as Paul’s House, or close to posh shopping arcades, we had company in the form of an army of ticket-happy parking enforcement officers. They’re proof that private motorists like you and I are unwanted and unwelcome – in the capital at least. I felt like a displaced person in the city where I was born and grew up, and may never return to by car, thanks to the anti-motorist agenda.
On a happier note, the VIP Taxi you see here, which has been Sutton’s demonstrator for the past three years, and was used for our long, traffic-choked, slow day on London’s unfit-for-purpose road network just a few weeks ago, is currently being offered for sale, with only around 700 miles on the clock. It’s priced at £99,500.
If I win big on the lottery, I may put in an offer to buy the thing, then arrange for a few of those Very Important Patients with cancer to travel aboard it between their homes and their wards at University College Hospital and Paul’s House, next door. Maybe Johnny H, the most generous taxi driver I’ve met, could be its official driver.
Mike Rutherford has asked for his fee for this article to be passed on to the Marcus Rutherford Foundation/Young Adult Cancer Trust, so that more gift cards can be bought for Very Important Patients at UCLH and Paul's House this Christmas.
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