Black Grill Surround

From this angle this Bentley Continental GT looks standard-esque, with the now more commonly occurring fashion of black wheels.



The black wheels are good. They are Kahn RS-X wheels, designed to accommodate original centre cap. More info here.



Switch angles and this car is something else!



A contrasting colour grill surround. Now that is a little special on a Continental GT.



I quite like the look of this car, even though it is a little brutal. It looks kind of like a snout come to think of it.



If you want it buy it on ebay here.

Silver Shadow Fix

How many times have you asked yourself this question...?

Where do Silver Shadows go in the winter?



I went on a two day 2,000km road trip last week (between snow storms) to seek it out.



I found the answer at Park Ward Motors, in Lake Barrington, Illinois.

Right about here to be precise.


View Larger Map

There is quite an impressive line up.



If you like Silver Shadows, this certainly is the place to be, by appointment of course.




Thanks to Rodd Sala for his hospitality.

(posted by David Irvine)

Bentley Arnage T Station Wagon

Now here is something rare.

That's right, this is a Bentley Arnage T station wagon or estate.



This car has popped up for sale in Italy, and looks like a recent import with its California number plates.



The wood panels are certainly a treat for an American style station wagon. I'm quite impressed.



The ad states "Beautifull project whit Arnage T 2004 with front and rear axle from Cadillac Escalade 4x4, double sunroof,wood side,silver with interior black."

That spec is very reminiscent of the Jankel 4x4 Bentley Turbo R Estate cars from the 80/90's.

From the design of this car, I'm thinking it is a sister car to the VGD Genaddi Design group white Arnage T station wagon I've posted about previously.



It certainly does look like a very good job.

It is currently for sale at britishmotors.it and at carandclassic.co.uk.

A big thank you to Nigel for sending in the link.

Rolls-Royce Kingswood

I do like Aussie ingenuity. Sh'ill be right mate, I'll do it myself.

Take a look at the rear of this car.

First glance when I look at this rear end, I always look for the centre badge. Is it a RR or a B.

There is none, so that is a little odd. May have got nicked.



But from the side, the car tells a different story. Those bumper bars must have been stolen, well borrowed from a Crewe car, but those doors are a dead give-away.

Have you picked it? Car'n on all you Aussies, South Africans, Kiwis or Caribbean people....



Those doors are from a bloody Holden Kingswood mate!



Now from the front. The grill is not perfect, but those WD Holden Kingswood (I think) front head lights are very similar to the Crewe part.

I guess they are about 1 cm too slim. I have actually seen these Holden lights grafted onto a Silver Shadow trying to look like a Silver Spirit.



Again the front bumper bar is from Crewe, so that means that the dimensions for the car, width wise anyway, are actually true!

If you want to buy this car it is for sale in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia for AU$8000, from Atlas Cars & Commercials, ph 1300321387, Winnellie, NT.

Quite a good feet for a backyard job, as well as coming from Darwin.



Now for all those readers who are not familiar with the Holden Kingswood or Holden cars in general, take a look at this period ad to get the jest.



It's Australia's favourite car! Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars...

But really, Australian's actually know what a Holden Kingswood is really good for, and that is certainly not a Rolls-Royce, it is for this!



I love it that the guy in the back right hand side seat is wearing thongs (yes, that is what his footwear is call), about a meat pies width away from flames. That's Aussie mate.

Let's go straight to the Summernats cun...


PS. Yes, I am Australian, and I do like Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars. I have no other interests.

I'm still giggling that I managed to make a video of four Aussies bogans doing a massive burnout in a HQ Kingswood completely relevant and appropriate and on topic for a blog about Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars.... Thank you.

Very Lowflying Spares

Always keep a spare in the car in case you need it.



Hey, you might get into a fender bender.



Just have a mig welder ready, a power supply and some superglue in the back too...



And you can only crash the front right hand side on this trip



Thanks to Rodd Sala again for the pics.

(posted by David Irvine)

A Real Crewe Car

The 2011 Mulsanne.

A Genuine 'All Crewe Product' retaining the iconic 6.75 litre V8 they were so famous for. The GT's VW W12 is wonderful but this is an old world Crewe car.

This one is at this week's 2011 Canadian International Auto Show and it's the first one I've seen in the flesh.



I love it.

Many thanks to the folks at Toronto's Grand Touring Automobiles for letting me barge in and photograph it.

As much as I love and respect Rolls-Royces, this Bentley is at the top of the list of the cars to have. Maybe I'll trade the Shadow in for a three month lease...

(posted by David Irvine)

Le Train Bleu Painting

Here is quite a nice painting of the Blue Train Bentley.



And here is the car with Dirk Van Braeckel, Robin Page and Paul Pires hanging around at Crewe.



Now for all you train spotters out there that read Bentley Spotting, here is my first ever photo (I think) of a train, appropriately Le Train Bleu.



Photos (Bentley Motors and trains-worldexpresses.com)

Bentley Magazine Winter 2010 Issue 36

Here is the new edition of the Bentley Magazine.



If you would prefer to read the magazine as a *.pdf document, download it here.

NZ Bentley Spotting

Bentleyspotting Down Under and Over a Bit.



A good friend of mine is now living in New Zealand and tells me sees RR's & B's often. This time he took photos when he saw this GT in Auckland, so here they are.



Cool registration number: 'SPD GT'.



It is indeed a GT Speed.

Thanks to Mark W for the shots.
(posted by David Irvine)

100 Year Old Lady

February 6th of this year was the 100th anniversary of the registration of Charles Sykes' 'The Spirit of Ecstasy'.



To commemorate this day 100 Rolls-Royces drove through the streets of London passing such places as the old Rolls-Royce showroom building on Conduit Street and Charles Rolls' birthplace at 35 Hill Street.



The Car Enthusiast News' Jamie Lipman was there and took many fantastic shots



Here are a number of shots, click next to scroll through the gallery.



It certainly looks fun!



I wish I'd been there...
(Posted by David Irvine)

RRR1

Here is one of the cars at the '100 Years of the Spirit of Ecstasy' run through London this month. The plate 'RRR1' on a new Rolls-Royce Phantom LWB.



And here's my old shot taken thirty one years ago of 'RRR1' on a Silver Shadow 75th Anniversary car.



Note the red RR emblem and that only the U.S. run of cars were all Silver.

(posted by David Irvine)

AX201 and 1WO

Two very famous RR & B number plates. The third, of course is 1800TU.

But I've just discovered that the registration AX201 (that graces the original Silver Ghost) and 1WO (the Bentley Motors favourite plate) are from the same region.



Monmouthshire in Wales, of all places. What a coincidence. A place where you're not sure if you're Welsh or English. (By the way the suffix TU is from Cheshire so no surprise there)



To quote from Wikipedia:

'The historic county of Monmouthshire was formed from the Welsh Marches by the Laws in Wales Act 1535. It bordered Gloucestershire to the east, Herefordshire to the northeast, Brecknockshire to the north, and Glamorgan to the west. Between the 16th and 20th centuries there was some ambiguity as to whether the county was part of Wales or England, but since 1974 the area has been placed definitively in Wales. The eastern and southern boundaries of the historic county and the current principal area are the same, along the River Wye and Severn estuary; however, the western two-fifths of the historic county are now administered by the other unitary authorities of Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Newport. The administrative county of Monmouthshire, and associated lieutenancy were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The area largely became part of the new local government and ceremonial county of Gwent.'

Am I the first person to catch on to this?

(posted by David Irvine)

In Too Deep

In too deep.

A term often associated with classic car ownership.



But in this case it's a Silver Shadow after the state of Illinois' massive snow storm three days ago.



Thanks to Rodd Sala for the photos.
(Posted by David Irvine)

Bentley Arnage RL 250 on the Street

Why not take a look at a total of 10 different Bentley Arnage RL 250 cars on the Street.



Out the front of Gucci darling.



Stuck in traffic.



In Stockholm at the Scandic Anglais.



Now for some home furnishings at Laura Ashley.



Probably on the way to work.



Now these two number plates, I'm guessing one Hong Kong, one main land China. Probably off to the Casino.



From this angle I'm not 100% sure it is an Arnage RL 250, but we will go with it, as it has an amazing number plate. It looks like down under to me, with a Ford Falcon taxi at the front, Perth I think.



This is quite an artistic photo of an Arnage RL 250.



Vladislav uploaded this photo of a lady in an Arnage RL. It's not quite on the street, but quite nice to look at.



This in fact could be a Bentley Arnage RL 450, as there is certainly a lot of room for those legs in the back seat.

Thanks to all the people who uploaded their photos.