Fit for a King: The Royal Garage of the Shahs of Iran

Book excerpt: A wide-ranging history of royal automobiles in twentieth-century Iran. Iran's monarchial history spans over 2,500 years; the automobile's, not much over a century. It was not long after the advent of the earliest cars, however, that Iran's Shahan Shahs used their broad powers to begin procuring some of the world's most renowned and unique automobiles for their royal garages. In his wide-ranging new book, Iranian automotive historian Borzou Sepasi details the story of the royal garage of each Shah of Iran, beginning in 1900 with Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, who, despite importing the country's first car, forbade drivers from traveling faster than horse-drawn carriages. Intertwining the major events in Iran's recent history--including the 1979 revolution and the end of monarchial rule--with the cars of the period, Fit for a King highlights the special roles these singular luxury vehicles played throughout the twentieth century. Magnificently illustrated with more than six hundred images of regal vehicles, Sepasi's book shines a light for Western readers on this fascinating yet little-known niche in automotive history.