Bentley Hooper 2 Door Turbo R

A couple of weeks ago there was possibly the Bentley Spotting ebay of the year.

The ultra cool Bentley Hooper 2 Door Turbo R.

The model has featured on Bentley Spotting a number of times, and the sale of such a rare car did generate much activity on this site. Not many pictures are out there for this car.

The previous article with many press pictures and two over previous advertiments are located here and here.

The car was for sale by PI Motorsports of California and they still have the advertisement up on their site here.

Here it is. A 1989 Bentley Turbo R 2 Door by Hooper.







I did not know it actually has a Hooper badge!







The advertisement claimed that it could have been owned by the Sultan of Brunei. I very much doubt that, as the steering wheel is on the wrong side, and the chassis number does not match the cars built and delivered by Rolls Royce during this period for the Sultan.

But it is such a good car! I am unsure of the exact build numbers, but I have heard that there were 6 made, just six. The recent car advertisment also states this as well. It sounds about right. Hooper were going through great hardship at this time.

Lets count up my picture collection on the Bentley Hooper Turbo R.

One.



Two.



Three.



Four.

This is different to the car above. Different grill surround, different wheels, different front fog lights.



Five.



Six.

Different from above, different wheels, different fog lights, badge bar.



The other photographs that I have are of the same cars when they were on sale.

Is that not six out of six displayed? Well I think that probably more than six were made, as it could not be that easy to find every car made. They did make Rolls Royce varieties as well.

It's a maybe that every Bentley Hooper Turbo R made is in front of you now, but I doubt it.

Pictures courtesy (PI Motorsports of California, Hooper, webfinds.)

A couple of Cockpits.

I like looking at vintage Bentleys. Don't know much about them, and don't understand many parts, but I like to look. Kind of like teenage girls.

A 1929 Bentley 4.5 litre.



A 1927 Bentley 4.5 litre.



This gallery may grow over time. Look back in a bit.

Wakui-Kuruma Doraku Station Wagons

I really like Wakui-Kuruma Doraku. I also get a surprise.

These two cars certainly make your eyes open.

A 1957 Rolls Royce SC1 Wagon.



And a 1989 Rolls Royce Silver Spur Wagon.



Never seen them before. I am so not sure if it is a hearse or not. The colour? I lack knowledge in Japanese culture.

Pictures courtesy (Wakui-Kuruma Doraku)

Mesh or Vains

We have seen behind the Bentley Grill here.



Now lets check out the differences between the two options.

Mesh.

As seen on the first Bentleys and the latest Bentleys, but also on the 'cheap' Bentley Eight and on the highest performance RT model of the day as well.







Now the vains.

As seen on this Bentley Brooklands, many Turbo R cars, the S cars, the T, and the Continentals.







From there repair diagrams it is clear that the mesh and the vains are actually interchangeable. They both use the same surround.

I think I will take both. Like a mobile phone cover. To match what you are doing. Yeah.

Ouch Ouch Ouch

Bentley Continentals up the creek.

In red.







And white.





It happens.

Segregating the Masses

This is a Canberra car. Yes it has Australian Capital Territory number plates. Personalised ones at that.



The serious observes of these cars would have notices the extra 4 inches in the rear door, and identified this car not as a Silver Spirit, but as a Silver Spur.



The car looks quite well kept.



You always hope that Canberra cars have been looked after by Bill Coburn, the author of One Tee Topics. He is the superstar for late model Rolls Royce and Bentleys worldwide.



Now here's where it gets interesting. The Spur has a division! Divisions are quite rare in Australia, especially in late model cars. Here, pretty much your local Member of Parliament is your neighbour. There is generally no division from common folk, and yes I know we are all convicts...



I'm thinking it's a Japanese import.

A Power Car

Some cars are extremely powerful and fast, but rarely a car demonstrates such eminence power, that it could even be termed dictatorial power.

Here is such a car.



One can judge a car as having has dictatorial power, when it has flag mounts on the front fenders.



A definite show of extreme power.



Power from the back seat.

The Old B and the New B

I have always known the Flying B to look like this.



It was on all the S models, the T's and Mulsannes and Turbos, probably even the Derbys.





It is what I know as the Flying B.



This year 2007 the Flying B changed. I initially felt reserved. Here it is.



I thought it looked unusual from the 'wrong' side.



And quite good from others.



I did know that on older Bentley cars not all mascots were the same. Recently I went back to look at some photos, and was surprised to find that the new Flying B actually looks like the old Flying B.







The font of the B is the same, it is just that the wings are stretched back further than the old old Flying B.

You can also just collect the different types.

Pininfarina Bentleys Together

No, this is not a picture of a Azure and a Carmargue together. Much much rarer than that. Take two one off Bentley cars both designed to one of the most famous car designers ever.

They both have featured on Bentley Spotting before.

The 1949 Bentley Mark IV.



The 1968 Bentley T1 Coupé Speciale.



Now both together. A very rare sight.