Bentley S1 for Restoration

This is a 1956 Bentley S1 that is apparently grey.



Well it has grey bits.



And other colours as well.



Colours that nature intended.



Or at least imposed.



Tan leather interior.



The car has been sitting in storage for 15 years.



I would say at least.



The car is currently for sale and reads "Excellent car to restore."



Good luck with it. 'Beyond economical repair' is not a saying known to potential buyers.



All yours for $US6,950 where the car is in Astoria, New York, USA, advertisement here.

Bentley Mulsanne Turbo by Hooper & Co.

Take a look at this brochure extract.



Yes it is for the new Bentley Mulsanne Turbo by Hooper & Co.



This car was one of the first Hooper Mulsanne Turbos and was most likely that car displayed at the UK Motorshow in October 1982.



Notice the AUS sticker for Australia on the back. Why?

Well it is because this Aussie's business card was attached to the brochure.



Yep, Colin Hyams bought Hooper & Co. in 1981 and transformed the company.

If you want to check our these Hoopers spotted on the street in the 1980's take a look here.

Here is a sneak peek.



Thanks Andy for the pictures from the brochure.

A very different kind of Hooper

This is a very cool V12 Rolls-Royce Phantom III.

It's not some modern chopped/converted Ute, but a genuine Hooper-Reid 'Estate Lorry'.



During the second world war most limousines were put up on blocks for years as fuel was very hard to get in the U.K. Petrol came by sea, and the German U boats did a fine job cutting the supplies.

By 1944 there were enough convoys getting fuel in from the U.S.A. so the British government ever so slightly eased the nationwide petrol rationing by allowing unlimited petrol for private 'Farm and Estate Vehicles' only.



So to get these (then 5 to 10 year old) cars back on the road out came the hacksaw...hence, the term 'Estate Lorries'

Hooper was the original coachbuilder, so I think Mr. Reid was the guy with the saw, the hammer and the sheetmetal.



Beautifully done, but what do you do with the mother-in-law or the kids?

Spotted at the 2010 RROC Toronto meet.

(Posted by David Irvine)

1954 H.J.Mulliner R-Type Continental two door

This H.J.Mulliner bodied R-Type Continental was a show stopper at the RROC National meet in Toronto today.



It's a light alloy bodied two door sports saloon with a tuned 4,566cc engine and a special exhaust system to give it 25bhp over the standard R-Types.



The design incorporates a large wrap around windscreen, sharply sloped rear roofline and straight rear fender fins for greater stability in crosswinds.



The car has great details as well.






But never mind that - just looking at it is enough to convince even those least interested that cars can indeed be beautiful.

It's a stunner!



Lets take a walk a round.



(posted by David Irvine)

Rolls-Royce Ghost First Drive by Motor Trend

Motor Trend does a review on the Rolls-Royce Ghost.



Drop the P.Diddy reference and it would have been better.

GR8 PL8S

You always find good number plates at car club events.



Take a look at these ones.







These were at the RROC meet in Toronto today.













(posted by David Irvine)

An Aussie Opinion

Being an Australian I known we can be opinionated.

This appeared in The Motor magazine on the 30 Oct 1923.



It is Mr Arnott's testimonial to Rolls-Royce for chassis number 42G1.

That's great mate.

Ride in a Hearse

It is a little unusual request, but lets take a ride a 1947 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith funeral coach, chassis WAB55, built by Dottridge Bros.

With a dog.

Let's take a look at in the National Archives for the Dottridge Bros shall we.

1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud Press Photo

Take a look at this great photograph from the Rolls-Royce Press Office from 1959.



It certainly is lovely. I particularly like the reflection in the puddle.

In fact look closer. It is a 1959 H.J. Mulliner Silver Cloud I Drop Head Coupe.

Even better!

Frua Phantom VI

Here is the huge, ungainly twenty one feet and six inches long four door Phantom VI convertible (PRX4643) designed and partially built by Italian coachbuilder Pietro Frua.



Work began in 1977 but was not finished until 1992 by British Coachbuilders Royle Cars many years after Frua's death.

The interior is quite impressive.





The car is the second Frua Phantom VI as there is also a 1973 two door convertible in light green (for some reason having a lower V.I.N. - PRX4705), with a more pleasing body stlyle.





It is interesting that the rear of the car has two RR badges, one on either side!



The styling cues are certainly similar, and they include the Citroen SM tail lights.

The four door car is arguably the last Phantom VI built as production for the 'regular' and more beautiful Phantom VI ceased in 1991.

It is for sale in the U.S. for 2.75 million from The Auto Collection.

More detailed information about these cars can be found on K.-J. Roßfeldt's site here and here.

(posted by David Irvine)

UPDATE:

The green Rolls-Royce Phantom VI 1971/73 Frua Drophead Coupé is also for sale.



The body is a Frua Disegno No. 869.



This is spectacular photography for a used car sales ad.



But you really would expect that from a dealer in St.Moritz. It is for sale by Volante AG, Classic Car Engadin.



A direct link to the advertisement including additional beautiful photography is here.

Thank you to Markus for the tip!