Sid James, Sir Laurence Olivier, and the Duke of Edinburgh all drove London taxis around the capital for the sake of anonymity. Nubar Gulbenkian, the Turkish-born Armenian oil magnate, is probably still the most famous Austin FX4 exponent, although keeping a low profile was not part of the remit for this eccentric Harrow- and Cambridge-educated Anglophile; and it appears unlikely that he ever took the wheel himself.
Born in 1896, Nubar Sarkis Gulbenkian inherited part of his fortune from his miserly father Calouste, whom Nubar famously sued for $10million when he once refused to pay for his son's $4.50 chicken lunch out of petty cash. When Calouste died in 1955, most of his legacy went into a Portugal-based foundation, but the younger Gulbenkian had inherited all of his father's business acumen and accumulated an independent fortune that easily funded his lavish lifestyle.
Like Lady Docker or journalist Gilbert Harding, this socialite, gourmet and committed womaniser appears utterly irrelevant to 21st-century sensibilities. Yet his exploits - and his many witticisms - captured the post-war public imagination, and he was famous enough in his day to be interviewed by John Freeman for the BBC's Face to Face in 1959.
The legacy of Nubar Gulbenkian's bespoke automobiles has kept his name on the radar over the years since his 1972 demise. Evidently having engineered a day off school, I can clearly recall seeing his coachbuilt Austin on the afternoon magazine programme Pebble Mill at One circa 1973, just before it was auctioned: it made an impressive £6500.
The taxi that Gulbenkian commissioned was bodied - by FLM Panelcraft of Battersea in the style of a horse-drawn brougham, complete with carriage lamps above the doors and faux wicker appliqué along the flanks. From the windscreen backwards, it was designed like a miniature limousine featuring some definite overtones of a Victorian hansom cab.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2024 من Classic & Sports Car.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2024 من Classic & Sports Car.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
From little acorn s...
The feisty Visa Trophée was an unlikely Group B rallying candidate, and a stepping stone towards Citroën's WRC supremacy
FORD RANGER RAPTOR
OTT workhorse is a kid-pleasing head-turner that mixes business with pleasure
MERCEDES-BENZ SL (R230)
The tech-heavy SL is becoming a sought-after classic with increasing specialist support
By Royal appointment
The overhauled Middlebridge Scimitar continuation was championed by Princess Anne with this, her eighth and final GTE
African Queen
A 1500-mile road trip has retraced this Morris Minor's history, from its first owner to its rediscovered remains, 54 years ago
NOT SO HACKNEYED CARRIAGE
Never mind today’s bloated Chelsea tractors, for millionaire Nubar Gulbenkian the perfect transport for the streets of 60s London was a bespoke black cab
Leading fromthe front
In the 1990s coupé boom, Toyota, Rover and Mazda scrabbled for power with race-inspired tuning, turbocharging and a sophisticated V6
EAST COAST HOME BREW
When ambitious racer Walt Hansgen was unable to buy a new Jaguar C-type, he set out to build his own. How does it measure up?
NATIONAL VELVET
As smooth asvit is rapid and superbly built,this Vanden Plas tourer reveals how Derby Bentleys set new standards of aspirational motoring
Martin BUCKLEY
‘While the BMW drifts round every curve, the chasing Jaguar XJ6 is driven with overstated incompetence’