You’ll never be late in this Chevy big-block-powered London Taxi
London taxis were never known for being especially rapid. While you might occasionally happen upon a driver doing his or her best Lauda or Prost impersonation, the workaday engines and comfort-focused ride are ultimately intended for smooth, efficient people-moving. Not this taxi. This municipal maniac has a 502-cubic-inch Chevrolet V-8 and a 9-inch Ford rear end. USA! USA!
According to the Austrian classic car dealership listing this riot act for sale, an unspecified British shop is responsible for the build. It’s an absurd creation that supposedly began life as a 1989 London taxi with a sleepy Nissan-sourced 2.7-liter diesel inline-four before a merry band of Brits injected 8.2 liters of screamin’ eagle in a bowtie, an automatic transmission, comically large rear tires, and a whole bunch of other performance goodies.
The ad says that the taxi has hydraulic suspension at each corner, which explains why the vehicle appears to be squatting on the ground while parked. We’d reckon that when running, the suspension rises to offer better ground clearance. There’s a comfy-looking driver’s seat inside, as well as a handsome dashboard, and in place of a passenger seat (on the left side, mind you) are two massive subwoofers, each with their own amp. Given the direction that they’re facing, these appear be more for the driver than any rear passenger.
Yes, passenger, singular. In an effort to properly house the massive Hoosier drag tires in the rear, the rear seat is not a bench for multiple occupants, but rather a single chair flanked by massive, carpeted boxes.
According to the listing, the taxi is owned by a private party and the Austrian dealership, RSD Wöcthl, is selling it on consignment with an asking price of €44,990, or roughly $53,325. While that seems like a like of dough, this build appears to be properly considered and nicely executed. Surely the available roster of V-8-swapped London taxis is fairly small to begin with, too, so if you’re in need of a vehicle that can fund its own drag strip runs ferrying passengers one at a time past Big Ben, go ahead and draw up some import paperwork.
Naturally, the builders left the meter in the car, so that you can watch how fast the distance (and fare) climbs—what’s the going rate for 1/4 mile down the road these days, anyway?
