After Prince Albert II of Monaco, 53, tied the knot today with former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, 33, he and the newly minted Princess toured their tiny realm in an interesting, one-off, topless Lexus hybrid.
In a product-placement coup, Lexus provided the Prince with a custom, bubble-top LS 600h L Landaulet hybrid for the event attended by royalty, heads of state and a glut of celebrities. (A landaulet is a convertible from the driver back.).
The official Royal Wedding cruiser was, according to Lexus, one of seven LS 600h L hybrid flagships provided the Royal Family as the exclusive green fleet for the wedding at the Grimaldi dynasty’s Italian Renaissance palace in Monaco.
If the Prince gets to keep it, he could put it in his museum, one of the world’s notable car museums housing a collection started by his father, the late Prince Rainier III, who was married to Hollywood star Grace Kelly.
The Lexus LS 600h L has an EV mode that lets it operate on the electric motor alone, without the 5.0 liter V-8 kicking in. Lexus said the green Prince and his bride’s official post-ceremony parade through streets of Monaco — where its Grand Prix also runs — will be “not less than 85%” on electric power alone.
Said Andy Pfeiffenberger, VP of Lexus Europe. “Our commitment to innovation and sustainable mobility at Lexus matches well with His Serene Highness’ keen interest in promoting sustainable development and environmental protection.’
It’s a good thing Monaco is small, though. The EV mode is low-speed only and has a range, according to spec, of about a half-mile, unless Lexus swapped out the standard battery pack behind the rear seat for one with more juice.
Lexus said nothing about that, but provided details of the car’s meticulous conversion:
While sunshine let the couple leave the top off, the limo has a one-piece removable transparent top that covers everything from the front row back. A French supplier of canopies for helicopters and jet fights made the polycarbonate, which is a single shell a bit more than a quarter-inch thick and weighing less than 58 pounds.
The conversion was done by Belgian coachbuilders Carat Duchatelet, working with Lexus engineers based in Brussels. It took over 2000 hours to complete.
(500 hours LESS, says the Associated Press, than it took to make the bride’s Giorgio Armani gown with 88 yards of silk and 40,000 Swarovski crystals. )
“We have 40 years experience in making armoured and extended vehicles for Heads of State, Royal Families and VIPs around the world’,” Benoit Ceulemans, an executive of the coachbuilder said in a statement. ‘However … it is the first time we are publicly associated to such a prestigious project and memorable event.’
The fundamental objective with the conversion, says Lexus, was to retain the quality and drivability of its LS 600h L base. It says the conversion began with extensive computer-aided design. Then the car was completely dismantled, stripping out some 20,000 mechanical and electronic parts and interior features and upholstery.
To maintain chassis stiffness and torsional rigidity, the convertible was given lightweight body reinforcement using carbon fiber and Kevlar honeycomb structures. Since carbon fiber requires high-temp curing and Lexus says these pieces “were literally ‘cooked’ onto the bare chassis in a specially prepared oven.”
The car was then painted Midnight Blue with eco-friendly water-based paint and re-assembled in two weeks by 10 people with Lexus engineers over their shoulders.
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