The LTI TX1 is a

Hackney carriage A hackney or hackney carriage (also called a cab, black cab, hack or taxi) is a carriage or car for hire. A hackney of a more expensive or high class was called a remise. A symbol of London and Britain, the black taxi is a common sight on t ...

(London "Black cab") introduced by

London Taxis International Carbodies was a Hackney carriage, taxi design and manufacturing company based in Coventry, England. In its latter years it also traded as London Taxis International and The London Taxi Company. It operated a coachbuilding business on Holyhe ...

in 1997 and designed to replace the ageing Austin FX4. It was designed by British product designer

Kenneth Grange Sir Kenneth Henry Grange (17 July 1929 – 21 July 2024) was a British industrial designer, renowned for a wide range of designs for familiar, everyday objects. He was also a co-founder of Pentagram design in 1972. Early life Kenneth Henry G ...

. Most are powered by the TD27

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

from

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

, a relationship which began in late FX4s. In 2002, it was replaced by the

TXII The LTI TXII is a hackney carriage (London hail taxi) manufactured by LTI from 2002 to 2006. It is the second model following the modernisation and redesign of the London taxi that began with the TX1. The vehicle has a handful of differences ...

, which used the

Ford Duratorq The Ford Duratorq engine, commonly referred to as Duratorq, is the marketing name of a range of Ford diesel engines introduced in 2000. The larger capacity 5-cylinder units use the Power Stroke branding when installed in North American-market ...

engine as found in the

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a panel van, cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford ...

, Mondeo, and

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (introduced as the Land Rover One Ten, joined in 1984 by the Land Rover Ninety, plus the extra-length Land Rover One Two Seven in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pick-up truck, pickup trucks. They have f ...

. Unlike modernistic van-shaped experimental cabs, the body was designed to recall several distinctive styling cues of the FX4. Upon completion, it was submitted to cab drivers for their approval and won their acceptance as sufficiently maintaining the spirit of the London cab. The improved interior allowed certain after-market additions to be made to these vehicles, such as the

Cabvision Cabvision are a major credit card payment providers in London having originally started as a digital screen network operating exclusively in Licensed Taxis. Cabvision Limited was sold in 2010 and now forms part of Cabvision Network Ltd which de ...

technology.

References

External links

TX1 2000s cars Front-wheel-drive vehicles Retro-style automobiles Taxis of the United Kingdom Taxi vehicles Cars introduced in 1997 Cars discontinued in 2002 {{modern-auto-stub