Cracking cabs
It is far from an understatement to suggest that the taxi is a vital part of the urban landscape, one that helps to define the very fabric of a city.
It is virtually impossible to think of London in the late 1940s and ’50s without envisaging black Austin FX3 cabs scuttling along Fleet Street, just as the image of New York will forever be imprinted with bright yellow Checker Marathons dodging the steam vents.
A taxi is also a reflection of traffic pressures – a Seat 800 could negotiate Barcelona with greater ease than a bulky 1400A Largo – and of basic economics.
The Volkswagen Beetle and the Premier Padmini were still in use years after their production demise – decades after in the case of the latter.
Some of these taxis are purpose-built designs while others, such as the Mercedes-Benz W115 or the Peugeot 403, are saloons that were perfectly suited to the rigours of life on the rank.
This could have easily been a top 20 – including the likes of the GAZ-24, Toyopet Crown, Volvo PV800 or Holden 48-215 – but the meter is already running…
1. Checker Marathon
Eisenhower was president when Checker launched its A8 in 1956, and the last A11 left the production line in 1982, in the middle of the Reagan era.
But the ‘yellow cab’ looked much the same, barring larger bumpers and the post-1958 quad headlamps.
Two years later private buyers were able to purchase the A10 Superba, and in 1962 Checker offered the Aerobus with room for 12 and 40cu ft of luggage for hotel and airport fleets – although the 56½ft turning circle was a drawback.
By the late ’70s, the Kalamazoo works was finding it uneconomical to update the design to comply with Federal safety regulations, and a plan to convert Volkswagens came to nothing.
By 1993, there were a mere 10 left in service, and on 27 July 1999 The New York Times ran the headline ‘Last New York Checker Turns Off Its Meter for Good’.
Anorak fact The folding rear ‘jump-seats’ were eventually deleted due to safety concerns
2. Mini Moke
Of all the taxis of small-screen fame, one in particular abides in the memory.
It only offered a local service, and was not fitted with a heater, doors, side windows or indeed any form of weather protection aside from a brightly coloured canopy.
It was, of course, the Austin Mini Moke from the opening episode of The Prisoner.
The conversion was by Wood & Pickett as a £661 ‘Beach Car’, and although Leo McKern and the other ‘Number Twos’ appeared to have an inexhaustible supply of Mokes, the production used only four on location in Portmeirion.
Two cars survive today, one residing in the USA and the other in the UK.
HLT 709C is the Moke from the first story and is fitted with a 998cc Cooper engine.
Alas, any attempts by ‘Number Six’ to steal the Moke and make a swift getaway from The Village were in vain.
Anorak fact A member of the production team is said to have encountered the Mini Moke on display in London and thought it ideal for the new programme
3. Austin FX3
The Austin FX3 taxi was a vehicle that was as much a part of late 1940s and early ’50s London as the Lyons Corner House.
This was also the machine that created the tradition of the ‘black cab’ in the capital, because many operators were averse to investing in the optional duotone paint finish.
In 1948 the FX3 was presented to the trade and cabbies were impressed, not least by the sealed-in driving compartment; previous Austin cabs had left the driver open to the elements.
There was also an integral ‘Jackall’ hydraulic jacking system, and an opening windscreen to aid demisting and for coping with smog.
‘You see more Austin taxis on the streets of London than any other single make of cab,’ claimed the Longbridge works, and FX3s were still plying for hire in 1968, a decade after the arrival of the FX4 that replaced them.
Anorak fact In 1955, trafficators were replaced by flashing indicators – prior to that, punters had been known to use the semaphore arms as grabhandles
4. Fiat 600 Multipla
What the FX3 and the FX4 were to London, the black-and-green 600 Multipla was to Rome.
Fiat unveiled its ‘all-service’ vehicle in 1956, with the taxi version sporting a luggage platform next to the driver, a division, plus accommodation on the folding middle bench and the fixed rear seat.
The top speed was 55mph, but an enthusiastic operator could make his Fiat appear as rapid as an Alfa Romeo Giulietta ti – some form of compensation for a driving position best described as cramped.
A few even entered minicab service in the UK, but most Britons would have encountered the Fiat taxi via episodes of The Saint set in Italy.
Production ended in 1966 after cars with rear-hinged doors were outlawed, yet the Multipla taxi remained a common sight in the Italian capital.
Anorak fact The driving seat of the Multipla had no fore-and-aft adjustment
5. Renault Dauphine
The Dauphine was not the first minicab in the UK – that honour goes to Carline’s Ford Anglia 105Es – but it almost certainly enjoyed the highest profile.
Michael Gotla of Welbeck Motors exploited a loophole in the law, arguing that, while the 1869 Carriage Act applied to spot-hiring, a pre-booked cab fitted with a two-way radio was exempt from the legislation.
On 19 June 1961, 200 Renaults emblazoned with advertising entered service, ready to transport you for 1/- per mile – just call WELbeck 4440.
Renault supplied the company at a discounted price, and each car needed to earn £3 per shift to make a profit.
Welbeck specified a 12V electrical system for the Pye two-way radio and the meter, plus the optional four-speed transmission.
London’s cabbies were highly unamused by these newcomers and the ‘Minicab Wars’ made headlines around the world.
Welbeck disbanded the Dauphine fleet in 1962, following a court ruling that ‘Gotla’s Private Army’ was indeed plying for hire.
Anorak fact Such was the Dauphine’s fame that Dinky produced a diecast model of the minicab pioneer
6. Volkswagen Beetle
Mexican assembly of the Beetle commenced in 1961, with Volkswagen establishing a local manufacturing plant some 13 years later.
In 1971 the Departamento del Distrito Federal decreed that the little VW would serve as a ‘public transportation vehicle’, and Beetles soon accounted for 75,000 of Mexico City’s fleet of 120,000 taxis.
By the 1990s, however, there were significant concerns regarding emissions and that two-door cabs potentially put their occupants at greater risk; passengers faced with muggers or kidnappers had no escape route, so a 10-year age rule for taxis was established in 2000.
The last Beetle departed the Puebla works on 30 July 2003, yet as recently as 2006 around 50,000 green-and-white VW cabs were careering around the streets.
The final ‘Vocho’ taxi should have left the road in 2012, but many unlicensed cabs remained in unofficial use for many years afterwards.
Anorak fact By 2012, drivers were being offered up to 15,000 pesos (c£780) to turn in their ageing Volkswagen taxis
7. Seat 800
The 1957 Seat 600 was Spain’s first mass-market car, and in 1963 the firm introduced the 800, a four-door derivative with rear-opening front and conventional rear doors.
The engine was the same as the parent model, but the body was longer by 7in and there was no direct Fiat equivalent – the Spanish Zona Franca works didn’t produce a local version of the Multipla.
Until 1967 the 800 served as an alternative to the likes of the Citroën 2CV and the Simca 1000 – plus as an exceptionally diminutive cab.
At that time the authorities regarded ‘Micro Taxis’ carrying a maximum of two passengers as a solution to heavy traffic, with fares around 25% lower than a larger taxi and often in a distinctive black-and-yellow livery.
The scheme lasted until 1975 and is best associated with the 800 – a Seat that was ideal for one or two fares in a hurry.
Anorak fact The Micro Taxi scheme initially operated Renault 4s
8. Mercedes-Benz W114/W115
It is almost impossible to select the ultimate ‘Berlin taxi’ because the Ponton, Fintail and W123 can all lay strong claims to the accolade.
Each followed the principle that a fleet operator merited the same standards of quality as the owner of a ‘Gullwing’.
As a result, Benz cabs could be seen all around the world, coping with the worst of road conditions.
Mercedes launched the W114/W115 range in 1968, and by the time production ceased eight years later they were being used as taxis across the globe.
The most famous testament to their durability is the 1976 240D belonging to Greek taxi driver Gregorios Sachinidis (above).
When he donated his W115 to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in 2004, it had amassed a mileage of 2,858,307.
Anorak fact In 1974, the W115 240D became available with a five-cylinder diesel engine
9. Premier Padmini
One of the most familiar sights in Mumbai, the Padmini taxi, was finally retired in 2020.
Premier Automobiles Ltd began making the Fiat 1100D under licence as the Fiat 1100 Delight in 1964, rebadging it as the Premier President in 1973 and the Padmini a year later.
By 1985 it was augmented by the 124-based 118E, but the older model continued to be built for another 15 years, the 1996 S1 version boasting a Nissan four-speed transmission with a floor (rather than column) shift.
Drivers regarded the Padmini as more manoeuvrable than the Hindustan Ambassador, and at one time some 60,000 black-and-yellow Premiers darted through the city.
In 2008, Indian authorities implemented legislation outlawing cabs of more than 25 years old, reducing this cut-off point to 20 years in 2013.
To quote Anthony Lawrence Quadros, general secretary of the Mumbai Taximen’s Union: “It’s an iconic car, which has served millions of people.”
Anorak fact Premier signed a licence agreement with Fiat as early as 1952
10. Peugeot 403
Anyone who has seen the great French film noir Un témoin dans la ville will recall the fleet of black 403 taxis in pursuit of Lino Ventura’s Simca Aronde.
The Peugeot took a bow in 1955, and at the end of its run in ’66 the 403 was the company’s first car to pass the million mark, thanks in part to its success as a cab.
From 1958 the Break (estate) was available with a diesel engine, a first for a French car, followed by the saloon in 1959 and the latter soon became the ideal alternative to a Mercedes-Benz taxi.
It was most associated with Paris for although some drivers opted for the Simca Ariane 4, countless others chose the car known as l’increvable (the indestructible).
To see any early 1960s newsreel footage of the Champs-Élysées is to witness the red-and-black Peugeots in action – all seemingly driven by Louis de Funès lookalikes…
Anorak fact The 1960 7CV was for the budget-conscious operator, with its 1.3-litre engine from the 203 and spartan interior trim
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