Robert Irwin, 16, proudly announces he’s got his ‘L plates’ and is learning to drive in his late father Steve’s 30-year-old pickup truck
Robert Irwin Jr, 16, is certainly following in his late father Steve’s footsteps.
The teenager confirmed on Tuesday that he’s officially started learning to drive behind the wheel of Steve’s famous pickup truck.
He proudly announced the news on Instagram, uploading a photo of himself posing next to the ute, as well as a picture of himself behind the wheel.
Robert Irwin, 16, proudly announces he’s got his ‘L plates’ and is learning to drive in his late father Steve’s 30-year-old pickup truck. Pictured left: Robert with Steve’s pickup truck on Tuesday, right: Steve with his pickup truck in 2002
The vehicle was labelled with an ‘L’ plate, indicating that Robert has earned a learner’s permit.
‘Here we go! I’m so excited to finally start driving… and happy to be learning in the best car – Dad’s old Ute!!’ Robert enthused in the caption.
Robert’s father, who died at age 44 in September 2006 after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb, was known for driving the banged-up vehicle in his wildlife documentaries.
Like father, like son! ‘Here we go! I’m so excited to finally start driving… and happy to be learning in the best car – Dad’s old Ute!!’ Robert enthused in the caption
The pickup truck, more commonly known as a ute (or utility truck) in Australia, was even featured in Steve’s memorial service, which took place at Australia Zoo.
During Steve’s funeral, an Australia Zoo employee loaded the late conservationist’s belongings onto his truck before driving out of the crocodile arena.
The symbolic gesture was widely praised at the time, as the memorial service was broadcast across the world to an audience of more than 300 million people.
Famous: Steve’s truck featured in the 2002 film The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (pictured)
‘It’s a beast to drive’: Robert and his mother Terri (right) recently talked about the teenager’s driving lessons during an appearance on Australia’s Today show
Robert and his mother, Terri, spoke about the teenager’s driving lessons during a recent appearance on Australia’s Today show.
Terri warned her son to ‘enjoy’ the 30-year-old vehicle, which has a manual gearbox and no automatic steering.
‘It’s a beast to drive. So once you’ve mastered that, I think you can drive anything!’ she said with a laugh.
Passed down through generations! Robert’s sister, Bindi Irwin, also used her ‘dad’s big old ute’ to pass her driving exam in 2016
Robert’s older sister, Bindi, also used her father’s ‘big old ute’ to pass her driving exam back in 2016.
Later in the interview, Terri described her son as ‘so much like his dad’ because of their shared passion for wildlife conservation.
Robert, who is the spitting image of his late father, has previously said that being compared to Steve is ‘the biggest compliment he could receive’.
Tragic: Robert (left) was just two years old when his father died at age 44. Pictured: Steve and Terri Irwin with their children on June 19, 2006