Court automobile, so-called “Kaiserwagen” ("Imperial Motorcar")

From 1909 automobiles were also used at the Vienna court. Like the carriages they belonged to the Wagenburg transport pool and were recognisable as vehicles of the imperial family by their “court green” paint with fine gold trimming and the coat-of-arms painted on the door. Personal automobiles of the Kaiser bore an Austrian imperial crown instead of a numberplate. The “Kaiserwagen” which Kaiser Karl took into exile in Switzerland in 1919 is, according to present knowledge, the only court automobile that has been preserved until today. © Monica Kurzel-Runtscheiner, Crane Neck and Gold Crepine. Courtly Splendour and Contemporary art – a confrontation,
Exhibition Catalogue, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna 2004