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Few vehicles announce themselves quite like a London black cab, and one of the breed is currently up for grabs on this side of the Atlantic. This 2003 LTI TXII London Taxi is taking bids now on Hagerty Marketplace, and the best part for American buyers is that it is a left-hand-drive car. No relearning where you sit, no wrong-side-of-the-road anxiety, just the world's most recognizable taxi with the steering wheel exactly where you expect it.
A Purpose-Built British Icon
LTI — London Taxis International — launched the TXII in 2002 as an update to the iconic TX1, swapping the old Nissan-sourced diesel for a 2.4-liter Ford Duratorq turbodiesel four-cylinder. That is the same engine family that powered period Ford Transit vans and Land Rover Defenders, which means the mechanical side is far less exotic than the bodywork suggests.
Because it was purpose-built as a hackney carriage, the TXII kept everything that makes a black cab a black cab: the tall, upright passenger compartment, the unmistakable silhouette, and a turning circle of roughly 25 feet to satisfy London Public Carriage Office rules. It was never meant to be quick. It was meant to be useful, and it is very good at that.
British Green Over Gray, Exactly As It Should Be
This example is finished in metallic British Green over gray cloth with contrasting orange accent trim and grab handles, a combination that reads properly period rather than restored into something it never was. The factory sliding partition between the driver and passenger compartments is still in place, and there is no front passenger seat, just as the cab left the works.
Rear-facing occasional jump seats, a taxi fare light, a chrome front grille, a rear window wiper and washer, and air conditioning are all here. Power reaches the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic.
An Honest, Well-Traveled Cab
The seller says the taxi was imported to the United States in 2005, and the included CARFAX report picks up that same year with registration history in Florida, Illinois, Texas, and now California. Recent service is said to include a new battery, an engine tune-up and oil change, and a fluid check.
Nothing is buried in the fine print, either. The seller notes cosmetic wear in the paint, trim, and interior, an inoperative digital odometer, tires with older date codes, and a missing stereo head unit interface. There is even a delightful paperwork quirk: the California duplicate title calls the car a “2003 LONDO.” Candor like that is exactly what you want to see, and if you want a refresher on which details actually matter, our guide on how to read a car auction listing is a good place to start.
Why This One Is Worth Watching
As of this writing the high bid stands at just $1,200 across three bids, with the auction set to end Friday, September 25 at 2:15 PM EDT. The car is located in Pasadena, California. For that kind of money, very little else on the market delivers this much conversation per dollar, and it continues a run of genuinely interesting oddballs on the platform, like the civilian-converted AM General M1123 HMMWV that rolled onto Hagerty Marketplace recently.
A low-mileage, largely original London cab with a Ford diesel, a usable automatic, and the steering wheel on the correct side for American roads is the kind of thing that turns a grocery run into an event. If quirky finds are your weakness, it is worth scanning the rest of the coolest cars for sale on Hagerty Marketplace right now as well. But for sheer charm per dollar, this little green cab is awfully hard to beat.
