Franz-Josef Paefgen, chairman and chief executive of Volkswagen-owned Bentley Motors, last night presented a new state limousine to the Queen at Windsor Castle, west of London.

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Built and donated to Her Majesty on behalf of a consortium of British based automotive manufacturing and service companies, the new Bentley is a gift marking the Queen#;s golden jubilee year (50th year of reign).

Work began on the state limousine in spring 2000 after the proposal was approved by royal officials. A number of features in the car were installed at the Queen#;s personal request.

This was not the first time that Bentley craftspeople at the famous former Rolls-Royce and Bentley factory at Crewe have built a car for the UK#;s royal family.

The most recent was a 1987 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI standard limousine which followed a Phantom VI state limo given to the Queen for her silver jubilee (25th year).

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The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) funded that project and the car was a variation on the standard Phantom VI modified with a higher roofline and larger windows for state use.

The new car has been designed especially for formal state duties such as royal tours and is the developed using computer-aided design techniques. It#;s also the first Bentley in the royal fleet.

The new limousine will be used extensively during the Queen#;s golden jubilee tour of the UK and will make its first official journey next Tuesday.

One would hope it will prove more reliable in the skilled hands of the queen#;s head chauffeur than an early-model Aston Martin Lagonda which, if just-auto recalls correctly, broke down in the unsympathetic sight of the press when being driven by Prince Charles about 20 years ago.

The state limousine was built in the workshops of Bentley Mulliner, the ‘bespoke#; (customised) car-building division.