Chauffeur News

 12 and 16 Seater Luxury Minibuses

Within the corporate and business sector each organisation is continually looking for new ways to improve and streamline their businesses. Transportation is one of the areas where this can be achieved successfully, and here at iChauffeur, we have noticed a significant increase in the use of luxury Chauffeur driven 12 and 16 seater minibuses. Rather than using a number of MPV’s or executive cars, businesses are realising and taking advantage of the minibuses by transporting a larger amount of people in one vehicle. This is not only more advantageous financially but also environmentally which is also another determining factor companies are needing to pay attention to.

Our luxury chauffeur driven minibuses are a perfect solution for any Corporate event, Airport transfer or Roadshow as they enable the party, to sit together and share the experience, rather than being split up into different vehicles. The party are able to continue working whilst in transit, which is beneficial, or they can simply relax before the event. With leather seats, conference tables, video facilities and tea and coffee machines, the luxury minibuses are ideal for any type of event including transporting wedding guests, sports teams and school parties.

The Prince of Wales will travel to the wedding in this Royal Rolls-Royce Phantom IV

Kate Middleton has chosen a very special wedding car for her last drive with her father, on the occasion of her marriage to Prince William, a Rolls-Royce.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom VI will drive her to the ceremony. The Rolls-Royce was given to the Queen as a present to celebrate her Silver Jubilee in 1977. This stunning Rolls-Royce was subject to much media attention in December last year when it was attacked by yobs during the student riots. The Royal Mews are confident that the damaged vehicle will be in tip top condition for the royal wedding on 29 April at Westminster Abbey, London.

Finished in claret and black, this unique wedding car has an extra high roof, making the bride to be and her father visible to the well wishers en route to the service.

The married couple will eschew petroleum power for horse power for their first journey. They will climb aboard the same horse drawn carriage which Prince William’s parents used on their wedding day 30 years ago in 1981.

The proud father of the groom, the Prince of Wales will travel to the ceremony in another Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Phantom IV as pictured above. Another very exclusive Royal Rolls-Royce, again finished in claret and black. This 1950 Rolls-Royce was commissioned by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1949 ending Daimlers royal “monopoly” when announced in 1950.

iChauffeur are delighted that the Royal Family have chosen Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines for the Royal Wedding transport and are pleased to offer chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce Phantom limousines and Rolls-Royce Phantom wedding cars for other special occasions.

Chauffeur Airport Transfers to and from London Heathrow Airport

Trying to get a cab or black taxi on arrival at Heathrow Airport (LHR) can be quite stressful especially if you are not familiar with London. Heathrow Airport handles 180,000 passengers daily, being one of the busiest Airports in the world, so the most efficient and hassle-free way to get to or from Heathrow Airport to Central London is in a pre-booked private Chauffeur Car. Chauffeur transfers allow you to avoid searching for transport and queuing. Your Chauffeur meets you in the Arrivals Hall, helps you with your luggage and escorts you to your Chauffeur driven vehicle straight to your hotel.

Black Taxis,  Minicabs and Buses

Black taxis for Airport Transfers can cost up to £80 from Heathrow Airport to Central London so why not take a Chauffeur Car instead as the price is approximately 20% more expensive. That way, you can relax knowing that your friendly Chauffeur will be waiting for you with a name-board of your choice. You should avoid mini-cab drivers who offer their services at airports or stations and only use a reputable mini-cabs and never use unauthorized drivers.

Trains and Coaches from Heathrow Airport

There are five Terminals at Heathrow Airport all with information desks, lost luggage facilities, currency exchange desks and shops. There are 3 tube stations at Heathrow Airport on the Piccadilly Line which service Heathrow Terminal 5, Heathrow Terminal 4 and Heathrow Terminals 1, 2, 3. All stations will get you to central London in about an hour.

The quickest way for the most part from Heathrow Airport to Central London is the Heathrow Express which operates four trains per hour to and from Paddington station in London. There are 3 coaches per hour to and from Heathrow Airport to Victoria coach station and again the journey time is approximately 1 hour. There is also a night bus (N9) which runs between midnight and 05.30am every 30 minutes to Trafalgar Square.

There is an exchanting story from one of the worlds most famous Chauffeurs called Roosevelt Zanders who, in a rags to riches fashion, created a successful Chauffeur/Concierge company in New York City in 1958. Zanders, who was a Captain in the U.S Army, established his company, New York City Limousines in Harlem, and the elite from Fifth Avenue sought out his Chauffeur or Limousine services. His client list included Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, Nat King Cole and Eleanor Roosevelt to name a few.

His fleet grew from a $3000 Cadillac to 16 Chauffeur Vehicles, including 3 Rolls-Royces. Zanders developed the concept of finding things for the wealthy that were not readily available and his concierge services flourished. Zanders would be able to get a client anything from Hotel Reservations, Theatre Tickets, Private Banking, and babysitters. He once sent two tiger cubs to The President of Panama, delivered $200,000 cash to Aristotle Onassis, and produced a pair of Elephants to a political rally.

Chauffeur and Concierge services work extremely well together, and although we do not publicise the fact, here at iChauffeur we have always provided our clients with much more than a Chauffeur Service. In the past we have purchased Super-cars, found appropriate schooling for children, and organised private jets as well as many other luxury items or services. We would never make public the famous faces that we have carried over the years. as confidentiality is crucial to our clients, but we can say we have carried the largest names in the acting world, Politicians, Heads of State and Royalty.

Heathrow Airport’s humble beginnings began in 1930 when Richard Fairey paid £15,000 for a 150-acre plot at Heathrow to test and build aircraft. The government requisitioned the land during World War II to build RAF Heston and an RAF control tower was constructed. In 1946 it was handed over to the Air Ministry and it became London’s new civil airport. The first flight to take off from the grass was the Lancaster bomber. The early terminals were very primitive and passengers had to walk to the aircraft over muddy fields. In its first operational year 63,000 passengers travelled through the airport and in 1951 Frederick Gibberd the British architect was appointed to design the main buildings on the site.

In 1969 Terminal 1 opened, and at that time five million passengers were passing through the airport annually. When Concorde arrived in the 1970′s, 27 million passengers were passing through Heathrow Airport annually, and as the need for more flights increased, Terminal 4 opened for business in 1986. When Heathrow celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2006 Heathrow had handled around 14 million flights.

The process of building a third runway began in 2007, under much controversy, and the project was finally cancelled by the Cameron government in May 2010. In March 2008 the slick and modern Terminal 5 opened its doors to passengers. The most popular destination in terms of passengers is New York, with over 3.7 million travellers a year. Based 12 miles from Central London Heathrow Airport has 2 parallel runways and 5 operational terminals.

In 2011 Heathrow Airport is owned and operated by BAA. London Heathrow airport is undoubtably the largest airport in the UK, and in terms of total passenger traffic is the fourth busiest airport in the World. Virgin Atlantic has its base at Heathrow Airport and it is the main hub for British Airways and BMI. Heathrow Airport fly to 170 destinations worldwide and is used by over 90 airlines and the airport has 67 million passengers annually. An astonishing 1.3 million tons of cargo are also carried each year.

Heathrow Airport has Chaplains for all the major world religions and it has a multi-faith prayer and counselling room in each of the terminals. Heathrow also services itself all the major TV stations and newspapers and has its own press corps with one TV crew and six photographers.

iChauffeur are positioned under the flightpath of Heathrow Airport and would be delighted to offer you a Free Quotation for our Heathrow Chauffeur service, which includes a meet and greet arrival at the airport in West London.

Times are definitely changing for the wedding industry here in London. With social media sites like Facebook and Twitter offering people information quickly, perspective couples are becoming more individual with their personal choices for Wedding Cars, Venues, Marquees etc. There was a time not too long ago, where couples would automatically choose a vintage wedding car, like the Bentley S3 or the Bentley R Type or a classic Rolls-Royce. Although many couples still opt for these classic vintage wedding cars many of them are looking for something individual to express their own particular style.

Emerging are the more modern and stylish wedding cars like the S-class Mercedes, BMW 7 Series or the newer Rolls-Royce Phantom or the Bentley Continental Flying Spur. Gone are the days where white or ivory wedding ribbons are requested as these days we are asked for a multitude of colours to match the couples wedding identity. The other point to bear in mind is the range of different cultures that reside in London today. This means that weddings are not typically arranged for 1pm on a Saturday in June but are arranged more and more during the week and sometimes late in the evening. Couples also may just need the wedding car for pictures, so the car is only required for an hour, not as before for a typical 3 hour wedding.

The most important thing for clients arriving at London Heathrow Airport is to be confident that their chauffeur will be waiting for them in the arrivals hall when they get off the plane. Passengers arriving at Heathrow Airport have come huge distances already, and once landed, many are anxious to be chauffeured to their Hotel as they are eager to settle in. With iChauffeur, the client arriving into Heathrow Airport will always have the chauffeurs mobile number, which installs confidence, and likewise the chauffeur will have their mobile number if possible. When the client comes through arrivals the chauffeur will be waiting with a name-board ready to meet and greet them. They are then helped with their luggage and escorted to their chauffeur car.

Our booking agents will make sure that our clients are asked valuable information, at the time of booking, to ensure a seamless Airport Transfer. The more information we have the better chance we have of providing a bespoke and individual service for a client. Some clients are happy to receive an SMS message from the chauffeur as they step off the plane at Heathrow Airport. Other clients may wish to meet the chauffeur after they have showered and freshened up after a long flight, it really is the clients choice in how they are received at Heathrow Airport. Located 3 miles away from Heathrow we are in the perfect place to provide Heathrow Airport transfers and have huge experience in this field.

iChauffeur offer luxury 16, 12 and 8 seater minibuses, Mercedes people carriers for up to 7 passengers, as well as luxury executive chauffeur cars like the S-Class Mercedes or BMW 7 series. We can accommodate larger amounts of passengers as well in multiple vehicles. Our booking agents will be able to work out flight times, journey times and full itineraries if necessary, so that passengers arriving at Heathrow will be genuinely looked after from start to finish.

The RBS 6 Nations is heating up, with both England and France undefeated and heading for a showdown at Twickenham on Saturday 26th February for a match that could well decide the championship this year.

The match is already a sell-out, as the home of rugby looks forward to hosting what should be a keenly fought encounter.

Two weeks later on Sunday 13th March Twickenham will host one of the oldest sporting rivalries in the world, as England welcome Scotland to the 118th annual Calcutta Cup match.

For those lucky enough to have tickets for these exciting 6 Nations matches then why not let iChauffeur help you make it a day to remember? Based minutes from Twickenham stadium, our professional chauffeurs have an intimate knowledge of the local area, perfect for avoiding heavy match day traffic.
And with parking in the Twickenham area extremely limited, having your own chauffeur driver ready to take you to and from the stadium leaves you free to get behind England without worrying about where you left the car.

On the 1st March 2011, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Ltd will unveil an electric powered Rolls-Royce Phantom at the Geneva Motor Show. The car named the 102EX will tour throughout the year, serving as a test bed to gather a bank of research data to help form future decisions on alternative drive-trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. For a couple of years now there has been much speculation about alternative power trains for Rolls-Royce cars. With parent company BMW leading the way with super efficient and refined diesel powered cars as well as their hydrogen powered BMW 7 Series there has been much debate about which way Rolls-Royce would go in their quest to explore alternative drive trains.

"We have engineered the world’s first battery electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury segment," said CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, speaking from the company’s headquarters in Goodwood. "With this vehicle, we begin an exploration into alternative drive-trains, seeking clarity on which alternative technologies may be suitable to drive Rolls-Royce motor cars of the future."

One could argue that Rolls-Royce make some of the most eco-friendly vehicles on the planet. Of course none of their vehicles will win any awards in fuel efficiency due to their huge size compared to the average car, but when you take a much broader view of a vehicle such as the "Total Cost of Ownership" then Rolls-Royce are unique in that practically every car they have ever made is still on the road! Most modern cars are designed to last a finite amount of time, while a Rolls-Royce is crafted to last forever. I am not arguing that Rolls-Royce are the most eco-friendly form of transport available, if you really want to have less impact on the environment, then you have to walk or get on a bicycle. However the timeless designs that Rolls-Royce hand-craft from their Goodwood factory are just that, timeless. Their cars are never designed to for landfill sites after fifteen years like nearly every other car manufacturer.

Don’t expect to be able to buy an electric powered Rolls-Royce this year though. Rolls-Royce have made it clear that the 102EX is an experiment, a chance to gather information from their existing clientele before they even contemplate putting such a machine into production.

Müller-Ötvös has made this very clear. "I must be convinced that any alternative drive-train we choose for the future delivers an authentic Rolls-Royce experience. It must be a technology that is right for our customers, our brand and which sets us on a sound footing for a sustainable future."

It is important to remember that Rolls-Royce cars are designed and built to truly uncompromising standards. If Rolls-Royce are thinking about electric power then it really is to give their owners the most sublime, and silent ride possible. Ever since their Silver Ghost rocked the fledgling motoring press over a 100 years ago, their vehicles have been a bye-word for near silent and graceful running. Electric power is a huge step forward in terms of refinement from petroleum powered engines. The technology is not new, even in 1897 London had electric powered taxis, albeit they proved unreliable and were shortly withdrawn. However as the automotive industry is starting to embrace electric power maybe the critical mass will shortly be reached and with lighter and more sustainable batteries being developed we will hopefully see a future of electric powered vehicles on our streets. We look forward to taking delivery of our first electric or alternative powered Rolls-Royce but until then, we are still honoured to chauffeur our clients in the truly phenomenal, petroleum powered Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Rolls-Royce will launch the website www.electricluxury.com this week, to fuel a wider global debate seeking views on the question of electric luxury. The site will also deliver regular updates of the car’s progress while on tour.

Rating the best chauffeur car in the world is down to one’s own perspective. To rate the best chauffeur car by price would be quite simple but to rate the best chauffeur car by the other factors such as usability, comfort, style and ride is a different story. For some clients the Rolls-Royce Phantom or Maybach would be too much of a statement and they would not be seen dead in one. For others who wish to make a statement  the S-class Mercedes, BMW 7 Series or Lexus LS600 would be considered pale in comparison, possibly akin to the way the average man look upon a taxi cab. Taking into account all of these factors we have come up with a balanced view. A middle perspective which considers the view from the clients perspective, the chauffeurs perspective, as well as the frequency of journeys undertaken; We present our view.

1. S-Class Mercedes

We have purposely not named a particular model as we believe, across the board, the S-Class Mercedes is the number 1 chauffeur vehicle in the world. Introduced in 1954 the S-Class is considered the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz range. “Sonderklasse” is the German word for “special class” or “in a class of it’s own” and the “S-Class” was derived from this word. Time and time again, technological innovations from Mercedes-Benz has, by default, made the S-Class Mercedes the world’s best-selling luxury sedan. Although we have not named a particular model of S-Class, we are focussing on the long wheelbase versions and whether it’s the V12, V8, V6 or the most popular diesel version, we have to hand the trophy to the S-Class as it is the industry standard chauffeur car on this planet. For the most part, the PA’s for CEO’s, politicians, media figures, businessmen and big names in the entertainment industry, insist on booking the S-Class as they know what they are getting and they can relax knowing that they have made the right choice of chauffeur vehicle for their boss. From the chauffeurs point of view they can expect reliability and sturdiness and the cockpit hosts all the tried and tested requirements to ensure the passenger is driven in comfort and style.

2. BMW 7 Series

Now, we could spark off some serious debate naming the BMW 7 Series as our choice, as the runner up for the best Chauffeur car in the world. The BMW 7 Series encompasses all that the S-Class has and is another preferred choice for top business people being chauffeured around the world. The BMW 7 Series is BMW’s flagship car, and like the S-Class, BMW’s latest an innovative technologies and designs trickle down into their other models beneath. It was introduced in 1977 and is now on it’s 5th generation, so although the S-Class has been around over 20 years longer, the BMW 7 Series is also steeped in tradition. The BMW 7 Series is the chosen chauffeur car for the Olympics in 2012, and what also prompted us to place the 7 series as the runner up, is it’s huge presence in the Eco friendly trend towards significantly lower fuel consumption and CO2 emission vehicles. With BMW’s latest release the BMW ActiveHybrid 7, it is interesting that BMW co-developed the system with Mercedes, and it is exiting thought that BMW at some point will release its Hydrogen 7 worldwide, as BMW claim the vehicle is the “world’s first production-ready hydrogen vehicle” although a 100 vehicles have been produced to test the technology.

3. Rolls-Royce Phantom

We were very keen to put the quintessentially British Rolls-Royce marque into the number 1 slot. Our first Rolls-Royce Phantom was number 52 off the production line and quite simply we adore this vehicle. With the likes of Simon Cowell and Alan Sugar propelling the Phantom even more into the media spotlight, without deliberation, one could easily hand the title to the Lion King of chauffeur cars. However, lets face some simple facts. How many are there? In 2010, 2,711 cars were sold during the year. If you are going to Elton Johns party then the Rolls-Royce Phantom or Maybach is a must, but if your aim is to be chauffeured around London to various business meetings or events, then the Phantom is not conducive. If we were deciding what is the best car in the world then our results would certainly favour the Phantom but we are deciding here on the best chauffeur car in the world.

4. Bentley Flying Spur

There is one thing that most certainly kept the Bentley Flying Spur off the top spot, and that is its ride. It has a firm and sporty ride, and when you are chauffeured, you can really sense the Bentley want’s to go but do we really need the fastest four-seat coupe of our time for general chauffeuring. This Continental continues Bentley’s tradition of sporting Grand Tourers and if you were being chauffeured from London to Nice there would be no better choice. The Flying Spur, like the Rolls-Royce Phantom certainly turns heads, it’s styling is supreme, and the 6.0 litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine producing 552 bhp is rock solid. The Flying Spur is built to last. Hand built at Bentley’s own manufacturing plant in Crewe in England, the Flying Spur is an all round super chauffeur car.

5. Maybach

If you are looking at opulence then look no further. In other ratings for the best Chauffeur car in the world the Maybach is certainly at number 1, but in our humble opinion, the Maybach does not top the list. Founded in 1909 the luxury car manufacturer Maybach was founded by Father and Son team, Wilhelm and Karl Maybach, who built their first experimental car in 1919. Before 1940 Maybach produced many classic and opulent vehicles. In Tokyo in 1997 the Mercedes-Benz Maybach was presented at the Motorshow and the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62 caught the eyes of the world. Like the Rolls-Royce Phantom, consumers were offered various options to personalise their vehicles, and with 0 to 60 mph times of under 5 seconds, the Maybach was powerful in so many ways. There are more features in the Maybach than all the vehicles above, comprising of an endless list of luxury options, but we must bear in mind that the Maybach is the most expensive of all the contenders.