The Lord Mayor's Limousine

In the late sixties and seventies, the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Belfast's official limousine was a stately Rolls-Royce Phantom VI. This car was, without doubt, the finest mode of transport the Lord Mayor has ever used. Absolutely nothing has matched it ever since.

Remarkably enough, it was the very first Phantom VI ever produced and was the official mayoral car from 1968 till 1978 when Belfast City Council, in their infinite wisdom, sold it. The Council, to my mind, were mad to sell it. The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of London still uses one.

The then Councillor David Cook may have been its last mayoral occupant. The Lord Mayor's Phantom was navy blue in colour; with the first citizen's registration number, WZ 1. It even had a little flag and a coat-of-arms mounted on its roof. The Queen still has a fleet of trusty Phantoms, including at least one Phantom VI.

As a boy I was in awe of this car, a true symbol of authority, power and presence. It really was quite a spectacle to behold (more so, doubtless, than some of its erstwhile occupants!). It must have been quite similar in appearance to HM The Queen's car, a 1977 Phantom VI presented to Her Majesty for the Silver Jubilee. The Phantom VI was manufactured from 1968 until 1991 and a mere 374 of them were made.

Belfast's mayoral car gradually became less grand when the Phantom VI was sold. I imagine it was simply too grand for egalitarian tastes. The Council subsequently bought a Daimler Limousine for the First Citizen; then another Daimler; then downgraded to a Jaguar car and so on. It's been in free-fall ever since. The present mayoral transport is a BMW Seven Series - still navy blue and WZ 1.

What next? A fleet of Skodas? Well, actually, yes. Admittedly not for the Lord Mayor, yet. However, the Northern Ireland Executive is now driven around, in stately and stylish fashion, in a fleet of chauffeur-driven Skodas. At school we used to snigger and joke about them (can I offer you the optional window wipers and seats on this model, Sir?).

I have nothing against modern Skodas. They are undoubtedly good and reliable cars, particularly favoured by many taxi-drivers. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd still snigger if I passed one carrying a government minister and I suppose they'd wonder what I was chortling about.

Having said that, Sir Richard Branson is on record as saying that he wouldn't want to arrive for a meeting in a big, stately, ostentatious car: he said he'd park around the corner or ten minutes away before he arrived anywhere if he had a car like that. That's Sir Richard's style. Casual, relaxed, informal. But he is an individual, not a City Council or a Government. Slight difference, isn't there? Now there is the proverbial chalk and cheese for you: Sir Richard Branson and Sir Alan Sugar.

This article was last published on the 8th June, 2008. It has been amended and edited.