BENTLEY SPOTTING

It's the Rolls-Royce of Bentley websites.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Bentley Mulsanne Review

Here is a nice looking video of a Bentley Mulsanne review.



The closing the door issue is interesting.

Sorry no subtitles.

Labels: ,

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Top Gear Reviews the Continental Super Sport

Here is Jeremy Clarkson reviewing the Bentley Continental Super Sport.

In High Definition.



"The rear seat has been replaced with air".

Top Gear is such a good show! The best TV programme on earth?

I think so!

(This video may not last long)

Labels:

Rolls-Royce cars in India in the 1920s

Now here is some rare footage.

How about some video of Rolls-Royce cars in India in the 1920's.



Sure you see this everyday.

Labels: ,

Bentley 8 Litre and Bentley Mulsanne

Bentley Motors as expected show the two latest large flagship cars. The 1931 Bentley 8 Litre and the 2011 Bentley Mulsanne.

Bentley 8 Litre and Bentley Mulsanne

That is right, the cars are 80 years apart, but are defined as the two large flagship cars before and after the ownership by Rolls-Royce Motors.

Bentley 8 Litre and Bentley Mulsanne

Here is some official Bentley Mulsanne driving footage taken in Scotland.



Enjoy.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Pimpin'

Why buy a Rolls-Royce and discover your friend has exactly the same car? That's what Pimpin' big wheels are for.
These two Phantoms in Toronto and Las Vegas are real but I photoshopped my friend's Camargue for a laugh...
(posted by David Irvine)

Labels: ,

Reader's Digest

It is written on page 147 in Malcolm Bobbitt's excellent book 'Rolls-Royce Shadow, Bentley T Series, Camargue and Corniche' that the model badging first used on the Corniche in 1971 was designed by RR stylist Martin Bourne. Bourne admits that he based it on  a typeface he discovered in a Reader's Digest magazine! 
Well, I Googled Reader's Digest images and Ebay items and (finally) found it. There's no mistaking it.
That font was used on all the model range for a long time.
 
Click to enlarge.
 
(Posted by David Irvine)
 

Labels:

97 year old engine

I just spent the day polishing and detailing a 1913 Silver Ghost. What an incredible piece of engineering for something that's almost 100 years old. You'd need to be both a mechanic and a pipefitter to work on the engine.
Not a lot of mechanics these days would have a blowtorch and solder in their toolbox...
(posted by David Irvine)

Labels:

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Lloyd Banks Sings Beamer, Benz, Or Bentley

The rapper Mr Lloyd Banks sings his new song for us titled 'Beamer, Benz, Or Bentley'.

Enjoy in high definition.



I do like the winged B badge as a necklace.



It is distracting.

Labels: ,

Around the World in Eighty Days v's Gumball....

May 1st , the year 2000 a group of classic cars set off to drive around the world.
 
 
Some of them Bentleys. A fairly glamorous affair , but without the superstar status of this year's Gumball Rally.
 
 
 
 
My father saw the 'Around the World' group near London , Ontario, Canada in 2000. The photo with the Mercedes #90 is added as the driver is actually the painter Pablo Picasso's son- I had to show that one...
I went to the 'Gumball' event when it hit Toronto this past May.
 
A totally different scene. The Yorkville strip in Toronto was just buzzing that night with lots of very high end cars from Europe, and especially England . Right hand drive Bentleys , Rolls-Royces , Aston Martins and MacLaren SLRs covered in corporate logos - oh , and a Veyron too. What a party!



 
The Gumball and the Around the World event were two very different drives, as our photos suggest. But great for Bentley Spotting.

Labels:

Long term Rolls-Royce enthusiast.

(Posted by David Irvine)

It all started in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1975 when (as a pimply 13 year old) I purchased a copy of 'Autocar' which included a free Rolls-Royce poster.

There was a Camargue in the centre of it , which was at the time, the most expensive production car in the world. Special people owned Camargues... So the poster goes up on the bedroom wall and the RR hunt begins.

Here is my bedroom wall in 1980.



In no time my whole room was covered in Rolls-Royce and Bentley pictures and I had accumulated a nice little collection of 40 or so RR & B models. 

Also, anything to do with Rolls-Royce was cut from magazines and newspapers to be pasted in big 'scrapbooks'. I still have it all stashed away in a safe place.



In 1976, a neighbour of mine purchased a new blue Silver Shadow, and I'd take the long way to the shops for my parents' newspapers just to look at it. One day I took a photograph.

Here it is my first picture of the blue Silver Shadow (number plate KOI3232) in Belfast that started it all.



That summer I went to London to visit my Grandfather and started taking more photos. I went to London once or twice a year and snapped photos with my sad little cameras, paying for the film and developing from my 50p a week pay/allowance (or whatever you may call it) and  put those (some not too good) photos in albums. I finally got a nice Praktica SLR in 1980 and a job , so more (and much better) photos were taken. Consider this: every picture taken actually cost something and you never saw the result for a week or so - unlike todays digital cameras. Hence , the bad shots. But the 1970's cars and scenery tell a story. I could't throw the pictures out.

Here is myself next to a Silver Shadow with a very old number plate (B3) in London.



I moved to Canada in 1980 and I worked at a detailing shop for a few years, so I got to see up close and drive many of these cars. I would still go to London and Belfast every year, too.

I finally scanned these rarely seen photos (a handful from the negatives, which takes longer, but has better results) and Jordan and Marinus at  rrsilvershadow.com  loved them.

Jordan has ALL the pictures as seen in the prior post, and Marinus just uses the Silver Shadow derivatives (Corniche, Camargue etc.)

I still love these cars, especially Silver Shadows and Camargues which I admired so much as I grew up. And I am still thrilled when I see any Bentley or Rolls-Royce on the road. Toronto's a good place for that.

Thanks to Jordan for giving me access to his great site, and hopefully my articles can be as interesting as his.

Labels: , ,

Friday, June 25, 2010

600 Bentley Spotting Posts.

After 3 years and 7 months I have made it to 600 Bentley Spotting Posts by yours truly!

That is a lot of stories about Bentley cars and the occasional Rolls-Royce motor. And a lot of making stuff up, finding images, photoshopping, typing typing typing, and lots of clicking the mouse. Lots. My Philippe Starck mouse is nearly worn out.

And it's been all for what? Well, one very nice Brit did donate $100.00.

And come the think of it... come on... cough up if you are reading this... donate via paypal using Visa etc on the side of the page -------->>>>



But the real reason for this blog is for self encouragement and the gaining of knowledge. I've been saving my pennys during this time, so that the first car I ever purchase will be a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce. That has been my motivation for this blog.

And after 3 years and 7 months I am still yet to purchase a car. My motivation has been waning quite a bit, hence the reason why for the last couple of months my posts have been sparse.

I have decided to still continue, but have called in some help to keep the posts more frequent. David Irvine, who has been a avid reader and contributor and proper Bentley and Rolls-Royce enthusiast from back in the day will now be assisting me in posting articles on Bentley Spotting.

David's amazing photo collection he took in the 70's and 80's is below, and he has an extraordinary scrap book of information relating to Rolls-Royce Motor Cars at his disposal.



I look forward to David's Bentley Spotting posts, and thank him for offering his assistance when my motivation has been lacking.

So, I'm quite happy that I have around 200 readers per day, and I have now posted 600 articles and 3300+ photos. It is becoming quite a body of work.

But I do need to spark up the motivation to keep going with the blog and saving for a car, as I do want to start posting about the workings of vehicles once I get one.

So in all, David's helping, 600 articles in the bag, yet still no Bentley, but hopefully soonish.

And finally, don't eat dinner tonight, give the money to me, you'll loose weight... and if you are wearing a cravat and have a collection of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars take out your Black AMEX and pop in the numbers and send some serious money to yours truly for my Bentley fund.

Link to the side of the page.


And if you have story ideas or comments as always, please to send them in to bentleyspotting@gmail.com

Labels:

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

So here it is. After a bit of a delay in posting this car, here is the beautiful Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Proper Italian coachbuilding. That is to create a special body car that is not part of the standard range,

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring
And they have certainly achieved it.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring
The Shooting Brake body is designed for use by 'hunters and other sportsmen such as golfers, riders, and polo players requiring easy access to larger storage areas than offered by the typical automobile boot' according to wikipedia.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

So it is perfect for a Bentley, being the sporting man's Rolls-Royce.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

There certainly looks like there is appropriate room.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The rear tail lamps do look proper, but different. What they have done here is use the Speed version rear lamps and mounted then under the panel, only exposing the oval lamps. It is a great effect.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

And close up.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

These profile shots below do highlight just how well designed this Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring is.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Now here is some interesting info.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The Flying Star is not based on a Continental GT but on the convertible the Continental GTC.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The convertible required a lot less work, as there was limited cutting and dismantling of say a roof as there was not one there!

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

With the rear seats down, there is room for plenty.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Hopefully there is enough room to take your girlfriend or boyfriend shopping.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The car is a Speed version. Steering wheel style is the hint in this photo. I like the Touring logo key ring in the ignition.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Now to the interesting part. What would it like to be in the back.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Well here you can see. It looks like Touring of Milan did a fantastic job.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The car is approved by Bentley Motors Crewe, and does come with a factory warranty.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The detail of the finishings are quite well resolved.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

And functional too.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

In talking about functionality, well sometimes if the mood is right, and you can not find a hotel room...

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

The Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring seems like the perfect place for it.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Quite comfortable and enjoyable. And a little risqué.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

Here are the keys to ride.

Bentley Continental Flying Star by Touring

I do like modern coachbuilding!

Labels: , , ,

Aussie Bentley Continental SC

Take a look at this beautiful Bentley Continental SC!

Bentley Continental SC

That's right, it is down under in Australian.

Bentley Continental SC

Bentley Continental SC

It is the only one in Australia.

Bentley Continental SC

And I'm yet to spot it in real life. Maybe one day.

Bentley Continental SC

These pictures were taken at a Bentley Driver Club, New South Wales branch meeting.

Bentley Continental SC


Bentley Continental SC

This is one rare supercar!

Bentley Continental SC

It was previously owned by Lindsey Fox, when he was the official Rolls-Royce and Bentley importer.

Thanks to Jerome for sending in the pictures a while ago!

Labels: ,

<< Older Bentley Spotting posts

Newer Bentley Spotting posts >>