Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Earth Wind and Fire - those are just some of the famous names who have ridden with Bermuda's new and exclusive limousine service.

Robinson et al were given the VIP treatment at the recent Bermuda Music Festival courtesy of Bermuda Executive Limo Service, part of entrepreneur David Durham's Yoshi Productions business empire.

And with golf professionals, including Open Championship winner Padraig Harrington, lined up to use the service at the PGA tournament held at the Mid-Ocean Club next week, the new venture looks to be going from strength to strength.

The fleet of two Lexus V8s was flown in from New York three weeks ago and with a staff base of five drivers, business has been booming.

"I have always been in the promotional business and with this year being director for the Bermuda Music Festival and knowing the VIPs demand for limos, it seemed like the perfect time to bring them to the Island," said Mr. Durham.

But, aside from the superstars and high profile events, he is also targeting the corporate businessman market.

"What we are looking at is the corporate side - the level of corporate business today means that businessmen need to be taken good care of," he said.

According to Mr. Durham the biggest contributors to business have been referrals from Lexus dealerships and the promotional work by parent company Yoshi Productions.

"So far we have had most of our hits for business from our Lexus contacts and we also have a design management company (Yoshi Productions) that helps with the marketing of the cars," he said.

"The take-up has been excellent - (last) Wednesday was the first day that they haven't been fully booked up."

One of the highlights was undoubtedly the Bermuda Music Festival, and with the King Edward VII Gold Cup happening at the moment and the PGA tournament and World Open squash championships just around the corner, it looks like they will have their work cut out.

"For me, the Bermuda Music Festival was exciting because I had never seen anything like that before - for people to call up and book the cars and then arrive at the airport, be picked up and taken to their destination and to link it all together was a great feeling," he said.

"The reason why we chose to launch in October was because it is such a special month with all the big events going on."

Each car costs a minimum of $125 to hire for two hours with any additional services such as champagne and the like on top of that. Among some of the functions they can be used for are weddings, proms, birthdays, anniversaries, parties and other special occasions.

"I have driven in limos in the States, but this is just on a whole new level of experience and the car runs like a dream," he said.

The cars certainly run very smoothly on the road as a quick test drive from Southampton down to Somerset proved, with the client quite literally sitting in the lap of luxury on the soft leather reclining seats and an adjustable arm rest, window and temperature control, as well as sunroof and retractable blind in the rear window, at their disposal.

Other features allowing them to travel in the height of style and comfort include overhead lit mirrors and surround sound music, while the driver has GPS, a rear view video camera and a fully automatic pilot parking facility at his fingertips.

"This is a niche service," said Mr. Durham. "This is service-orientated and focused on comfort and depending on what you want it is very personalised - if you book us for the morning you will get a copy of The Royal Gazette with your ride."

Mr. Durham plans to double his fleet with the addition of another two cars and to link up the limo service with his boat 'Playstation'.

To book your own ride in a limousine with Bermuda Executive Limo Service contact 292 0282.