XUW218 Arisen

Something RR&B was going on last night on King Street West in Toronto.

I wasn't there but my spy Karim took these street shots:

A couple of Silver Shadows.

And a pair of Bentley S / Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud series cars.

Here's one of those cars I photographed almost 33 years ago as a classic car on display at the 1981 Toronto Autoshow:

The colour scheme has changed.

(Posted by David Irvine- thanks to Karim)

Phantom Pre-Production Prototype

Here is what is currently at the Imperial Palace Auto Collection, Las Vegas.



They have somehow got their hands on one of the pre-production prototype/test cars. A beautifully finished car.



A real piece of history - a Rolls-Royce from scratch.



Just as Sir Henry did over a hundred years ago...



Here is how it is displayed amungst the other Phantoms.



(Posted by David Irvine)

Holy FHC !

Here is a modified 1976 Rolls-Royce FHC (Fixed Head Coupe) Corniche that is currently for sale in Canada.



It sports later model rear lamps next to the number plate on rear, and also Hooperish wire wheels.



Also of note are these odd body side mouldings on the waistline and a front air dam.



The car also has a third brake lamp on the bootlid, and if you look closely, the bumper fillers are chromed. They are normally aluminium so therefore must have been remanufactured, for them to be chromed.



A good leather 'Connolising' would do wonders.



This is an interesting example - I quite like it. I'm all for these subtle mods, but the waistline plastic moulding has to go...

For sale in Canada here priced at $69,500.

(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)

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)

Sad Silver Shadow

This car was Spotted at a scrap yard north of Toronto, Canada.



There really should be a law against such things.



And why are they always red...?



It does bother me to see this.

Hopefully it will be used to save others.

(posted by David Irvine)

Pimpin' II

It's amazing what a set of full white wall tyres can do.



They totally change the car and I like it...!



British Car Day, Oakville, Canada 2010

(posted by David Irvine)

Never Mind the Grey Poupon,

"I want dog food..."



A nice Silver Cloud with a very spoilt dog at last year's British Car Day, Bronte Creek Provincial Park, Oakville, Ontario, Canada 2009.

Reminder: This Sunday for the 2010 show. I'll be there.
(Posted by David Irvine)

Rolls Royce in the London Times circa 1978

Here is a series of ten advertisements which are a touch suggestive of the philosophies, qualities and values of Rolls-Royce Motors.

They appeared in The Times of London between June 26th and July 7th 1978 and can not be described as subtle.

The best value in the World?





The best body in the world?





The best engineers in the world?





The best wood in the world?





The best leather in the world?





The best brakes in the world?





The best wool in the world?





The best climate in the world?





The best inspectors in the world?





The best care in the world?





Hardly suggestive.

(Posted by David Irvine)

Shadows Galore

One more amazing shot from an old 1970's RR brochure, showing one hundred new RR's on an unopened new stretch of Motorway somewhere in England.

The car on the front left has Belfast number plate BOI 1020 and there's 1800TU beside it.



Note that every car has at least one person in it, except for the guy (middle left) who got out to pose. I wonder who he was..?

Great photo!

As always, double click to enlarge.
(posted by David Irvine)