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.

2010 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow Concept

Ok, low quality photoshop images of future cars are always interesting to look at.

Lets quote Rumsfeld on uncertainty. 'As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know.'



According to winding road this is the 2010 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow. Maybe.

Bentley Spy Photos

The Lehmann Photo-Syndication is renowned for getting the first spy photos of new cars well before they go into production.

This photograph hit the net well well before the Bentley Continental Flying Spur was released. I recall that is was only a little while after the Bentley Continental GT was sold.

It is now interesting the comparison between the first spy photo and the real thing. The spy shot is oh so similar.

Here is the spy photograph.



Now take a look at the real thing.



The rear door arch has been changed significantly. The door line is on the actual Flying Spur is more rounded and limousine type than sedan type of the spy photo.

Everything else is pretty much the same. My guess is that it was an initial test vehicle. Interesting.

Mulberry vs Phantom

As discussed earlier here, it would have been unbelievable if one was to say that in 25 years time a pair of Lobb shoes are more expensive to buy that the Bentley T2 parked out the front in this Rolls Royce car division press photo.

Believe it. A pair of Lobb shoes are now more expensive to purchase than the Bentley.



It is with surprise that Rolls Royce has done it again. This time they have parked a Rolls Royce Phantom outside the front of Mulberry.



Do I dare predict that in 25 years time a Mulberry handbag will be more expensive than the Rolls Royce Phantom?

It is a maybe. Fossil fuel decline, ban on polluting cars, no car older than 10 years on the road - they are all possible pieces of legislation.

But I really do not think that the Phantom will be worth anywhere near this yacht ever.

The Freestone and Webb Bentley S

Bentley spotting has featured a video of the Freestone and Webb Bentley S, as well as one rusting in a paddock down under.

Now here is the source.

The actual technical drawings from Freestone and Webb. In pencil. Early 1950's.

Design No. 3191/A. The Freestone & Webb Ltd Bentley S. Otherwise known as the Bentley S1 Empress.



Here are a few in the flesh.

A 1955 Model.



A 1956 Model - have a look at its stable- mates, a Silver Shadow and a Turbo R, its in Japan.



A 1957 Model



Now Design No. 3171/A. The Freestone & Webb Ltd Rolls Royce Silver Wraith.



A couple of examples.





Now the one in the paddock from before. This version really emphasises the the design around the headlights.



Most call this car the S1 Empress. However the '1' only came after the Bentley S2. There were further Bentley Empress cars, so this could be called the Bentley S1 Empress I, maybe.
Have a look at the very rare Bentley Empress III by Hooper, it was based on the Turbo R here.

La Malle-Auto de Louis Vuitton

I could go on and on about how Louis Vuitton was the first to attach
his trunks to the back of cars with leather straps all covered in the
iconic LV motive on brown with dull gold lettering.

I could also say that this is why Americans confuse the trunk for the boot.

I trunk is detachable and the porter takes it to your room. It is not part of the car. It's a travel case.

Here are some original advertisements of the period for La Malle-Auto de Louis Vuitton trunk.





It would be cool if one attached a trunk to a modern day car. A future photoshop job? I think so.

Here is a practical example where again an American has mistakenly used incorrect English, and has very much confused someone.

Can I say probably a Mexican? When translating into Spanish there was obviously an error. Place to trunk not in the trunk but on the roof. It's confusing.

What is one to do? How is one to do it? A solution. Take the truck apart and stick it to the roof.



That will work.

AX 147 and AX 148

AX201 is probably the most expensive and most photographed single car ever. It is the original Silver Ghost. Take a look here.



It was not the first Rolls Royce, there were a number before it.

Here is AX147 from 1905.



And AX148