Ford V8 Cabriolet
HRH Prince Bernhard and HRH Princess Juliana of the Netherlands travelled in a similar Ford V8 Cabriolet during their honeymoon in 1937.
Later that year, on the 29th of November, the Prince, who was driving the Ford, was seriously injured when he collided with a sand lorry just outside Amsterdam. He suffered multiple broken ribs and a skull fracture and was hospitalised for six weeks. He had back problems for the rest of his life. The Ford was completely wrecked in the accident.
Although the V8 engine was not a new concept, it had not yet been widely used in America. Most engines in series-production cars were inline six- or eight-cylinder types. Ford cast the V8 in one piece, which reduced costs considerably, making this quiet engine available to a wider audience. It was thanks to the V8 that the Ford Motor Company survived the Depression of the 1930s.
A Ford V8 won the Monte Carlo Rallye in both 1936 and 1938.