The cabs have had to be converted to left-hand drive

The distinctive cabs are manufactured by Coventry-based London Taxis International and have become a regular sight in many of the UK's largest cities.

The cars have to be repainted yellow to comply with US taxi regulations.

But they will keep the extra headroom required under old London Public Carriage Office rules which was originally intended to accommodate a gentleman's top hat.

The London taxi has an aura about it that we are confident will appeal to customers Andrew Stoppelman, New York cab boss

London Taxis International sold the exclusive rights to sell the cars in the US to entrepreneur Larry Smith.

He saw one during a family holiday to England in 2000.

Mr Smith has spent �4m refitting the cabs to meet US safety and emissions standards.

His aim is to have more than 3,000 cabs on the roads in the US and Canada within four years.

At least 125 have now been sold in the US to both taxi companies and private buyers - including actor and would-be governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Terminator star bought one of the first cabs to be shipped to the US for his own use.

Andrew Stoppelmann, from the Bronxville Taxi company in Westchester, New York state, said he ordered two of the British cabs to boost his fleet.

"The London taxi has an aura about it that we are confident will appeal to customers," he said.

"The drivers are very excited about their arrival too - some of them are already practising their cockney accents."