RROC Texas Spring meet 2008 video

A very big thank you to John Sweney from the Rolls Royce Owners Club Texas branch for putting together this video of the clubs Spring Meet.

I have toured around 15 of the united states, but never to Texas.

If I was to go to Texas I do hold a stereotypical image of events and behaviours that I would like to encounter.

Say that distinctive Texan twang accent, maybe be meet a Rancher and check out his livestock, definitely have a BBQ with a steak the size of a hub cap, maybe go line dancing in a country hotel and hear drunk ladies randomly swear on the dance floor, meet some cowboys and cowgirls in full boots jeans, check shirts and hat get up, drive around in big cars saying howdy. And I would definitely buy a big cowboy hat as a souvenir.

As expected it can all be achieved at the Texas branch of the RROC.

I have decided on which hat I want.

I want the 6.75 litre hat that this guy has at 1.30 in the video.



And yes there are some great cars to have a look at in the video.

Thanks John.

Bentley Mulsanne Convertible

A couple of months ago this car was for sale in where else but Belgium.



It is a mid 1980's Bentley Mulsanne.



That comes with a slightly special roof.



It is a four door rag top.



Certainly a rare view inside of a Bentley Mulsanne.



This car is the 20th Bentley Mulsanne/Rolls Royce Silver Spirit based convertible to be featured here on Bentleyspotting.

Take a look at the mega gallery of the others here.



Colour coded seat belts could be in order.

Two other convertibles has been spotted with the same roof style, and one is referred to as a convertible in the style of Tickford.



The very first Bentley spotting post featured a green version of a Bentley Mulsanne convertible in the same style here.



Thanks to Bart for sending in the pictures. The car is now sold. Weddings anyone?

I want a Bentley Continental R

Oh Youtube videos. The amateurism is just great.

There is a lot of swearing in this video, but it is worth it.

The general synopsis is that this 18 year old driver is quite annoyed with his 'cheap' parents, because all he wanted was a Bentley Continental R and they bought him this shitty Bentley Arnage T.

The quotes are just fantastic.

"All I did was ask for the Continental R Bentley, that's it, its just the coupe"

"I'm 18 fucking years old, I've got no damn family, I don't need four doors. I just wanted the Continental R with the sports package.”

"They don't listen to what car I want"

I thought Americans did not understand sarcasm. Forward thinking teens.

Baadest Blackest Bentley Turbo R Hooper 2 Door Ever

A while ago I photoshopped one of my dream cars. A Bentley Turbo RT 2 door by Hooper with Mulliner enhancements.

I am not sure that they actually exist, but I would love it! With chrome RT/Azure 5 spoke wheels and a slight body kit, tinted windows with front quarter panel side vents and a mesh grill.

Just suburb, not to everyones liking but that is the point of Bentley ownership. A bit of individuality. Like everyone else.

Here it is.



And in comparision to a real Bentley Turbo RT.



Well actually I do not need to photoshop want I am talking about any more because a car that ticks all the boxes has been spotted.

In Japan.

Up close in high resolution in all it's Baadest Blackest Bentley Turbo R Hooper 2 Door glory.



The car is simply amazing! Not simple because it is a Hooper 2 door Turbo R, but all the extra enhancements. It has blacked out lights, Turbo RT/Azure 5 spoke crome wheels, a mesh grill, under bumper mesh, de-cromed trim and the most impressive rare feature, a slight bodykit.



The bodykit looks very familiar. After scratching my head, I realised what it is. It is the Mulliner widybody off the Bentley Continential R Widebody. Amazing. The cars are both the same dimentions, so why not!



The rear defusier is Bentley Continential R, and the badges say both Mulliner and Hooper!

I'll take that one.

Rare Bentleys on the Track

Generally at Silverstone you would expect to see the Bentley Speed 8 blasting around the track.

Here it is thankfully photographed by avid automobile photographer Tim Dunlop.



But over the weekend something slightly different happened.

It was the annual Bentley Drivers Club day at Silverstone and some Bentley cars not often seen on a track got to have a go.

Here is a Bentley R Type followed by a Bentley Eight.



Then Tim Dunlop snapped a Bentley T2 tailed by a Bentley Turbo R



Next up came a Bentley S1 Contenential Flying Spur, tracked by a Bentley Continential R, and out wide is a Bentley Azure



At its own pace then came along a Bentley S3.



Then a bit of a surprise came around the corner.

A Bentley Turbo R six door limousine. A 1990's one at that.



With the roof racks and three rows of forward facing seats it looks like it is for the funeral market, so it is certainly a surprize to see on the track at Silverstone.

Great appreciation goes to Tim Dunlop for allowing these photograghs to be reproduced. I'm sure an enjoyable day was had.

Pictures courtesy (Tim Dunlop) reproduced with permission.
Images are copyright of Tim Dunlop and Dunlopix and may not be reproduced without prior written consent

Orange Wrap for Team RRR

HRH Sheikh Rashid Bin Humid Al Nuaimi شيخ حميد بن راشد النعيمي‎ of Ajman, the smallest emirate in the United Arab Emirates has a son, the Crown Prince Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi.

He is one seriously cool guy. He is into the standard Arabian princely endeavours such as falconary, camels, horses, especially Arbian show horses, jet aircraft, boats and super cars.

His cars are ever so slightly distinctive, due to having the marking "RRR" on them in orange, and generally come in two tone orange and black.

Read more about the Prince with photos of some cars in a previous post here.



Sheikh Ammar is a fan of Mansory. It is presumed that the first Bentley Continential GT LE MANSory widebody when to him. The colours kind of match.



Here is another of Ammar's cars, a Mansory Bentley Continential Flying Spur in the distinctive orange and black two tone.



Now for the purists, the colour is not as bad as one might first imagine it to be.

The orange is not painted on, it is simply plastic contact wrap that is stuck onto the car. It unusually might even protect the paint from chips and exposure.

What is a little surprising is that this servious of photographs have appeared on the internet.

It is a gentelman sticking on the orange plastic wrap to Sheikh Ammar's Rolls Royce Phantom Drop Head Coupe.

Firstly the orange contact wrap is just stuck on.



Then it is ever so carefully cut to size.



Peel off the excess, and you have simple, but very effective personalised car markings.



It certainly is a little easier than painting a proper two tone car.





And a little easier the revert back to the standard colour for the next owner.



Sheikh Ammar does this to many of his cars, and the colours are even used his helicopter, boat, sports bike and clothes. It is quite distinctive branding and promotion of the Ajman emirate. If that was the intent that is. But that is probably a little to deep. It could be just because its looks cool!




Here is the DHC on the streets of London.



Pictures (Mansory, webfinds)

Bentley Arnage 450 HR Spotted

The Bentley Arnage 450 HR Mulliner Limousine is one quite distinctive Bentley.

The car is part of the standard Bentley Arnage range that includes the Arnage T, the Arnage R, the Arnage RL and the other lesser known limousine model called the Arnage 728 Limousine.

The 450 stands for the 450mm that the car has been stretched, it has gained 200mm in the front door and 250mm to the rear door. The Bentley Arnage 450 HR also has a raised roof of 100mm.

There is quite limited photography of the Bentley Arnage 450 HR and the standard photo is below.



What is a bit special is that a Bentley Arnage 450 HR has been spotted.

A Bentley spotting reader Andy was recently in Cannes and was staying at the Hotel Martinez on the famous boulevard de La Croisette.

Parked out the front was this. An Arab plated Bentley Arnage 450 HR.



Then the next day this car was parked in the same spot. A Bentley Arnage 450 HR. Andy presumed it was the same car, but take a closer look. This Bentley Arnage 450 HR has German number plates, and on closer inspection also has a Bentley badge on the rear pillar.

It is a second spotted Bentley Arnage 450 HR Mulliner Limousine.



Very rare sights indeed.

If people know of other photos of this very rare Arnage model please do send them in.

The best car in the world

I do like this advertisement for the Bentley Turbo R.

Confirmation, if any were needed, that Rolls-Royce makes "the best car in the world".



'The Bentley Turbo R. "The best car in the world" CAR Magazine, November 1991.'

Thanks to Balmoral Green for posting it on pistonheads.com

Jame's Corniche against Jeremy's 600

This week on BBC's Top Gear James May test his 1972 Rolls Royce Corniche Fixed Head Coupe with coachwork by H. J. Mulliner Park Ward against Jeremy Clarkson's 1963 Mercedes Benz 600 Grosser.

Part One:

Part Two:

"Camp, or Camp Commandant."

It's a good telly programme.

Brunei Royal Wedding Procession

Why does the Royal Family of Brunei have so many cars?

To do this of course, parade around their country to mark one very special day.

It was a big day for the Sultan, giving the hand of his Princess away.

Now lets do some serious Bentley and Rolls Royce spotting.

Get your goggles out.

My most enjoyable thing about a Royal Brunei weddings is you get to see the Royal Brunei Wedding Chariot.

Enters at time 2.26 on the video.



The Rolls Royce is a raised rear coach seat Landaulette version of a Rolls Royce President limousine by Robert Jankel based on the Silver Spur. It features a rear coach seat cloth canopy and extensive gold decorative trimmings, with a large gold state coat of arms to the front and sides, which when combined is as subtle as a nuclear bomb. Oh, with faux oak bumper bars for good measure as well.



Translating that spiel, the rear seat raised up out the Landaulette section of the six door Chariot, and that coach seat is covered by a canopy. Robert Jankel presumably made this.

I like that a servant stand on the back holding an umbrella.



Simply an extreme display of wealth and power.






Now the next Royal car in the procession at 3.15s is the Sultan of Brunei's Rolls Royce Phantom VI.

The car is presumed to be chassis PRH4770 which was originally owned Chairman Mao Tse-tung.



Now this vehicle at 3.59s I am going to crown the Royal Brunei Wedding Chariot Support Limousine with white roof.



It is, like the Wedding Chariot, a Rolls Royce President Limousine by Robert Jankel.



It features six doors and unusually has an alternative coach line sloping down the third door of the car.

After an initial eye blink it actually looks ok.



It also has one of those carriage S bend thingos on the C pillar that I do not know what they are called.






The next vehicle of interest is a Rolls Royce Silver Spur II limousine by Robert Jankel.



It has the standard 4 doors and extended wheel base to the centre.






Then a Bentley Arnage proceeds.



Make that a long wheel base Bentley Arnage.



At 5.11s a black Silver Spur drives past.



Then at 5.39s one of my favourate cars enters the frame. But unfortunately the front is missed so it is either a Bentley or a Rolls Royce Touring Limousine.



The Touring Limousine features a raised roof with a more centralised rear door and is of impeccable proportions.



The car at 5.50s is to be crowned the Royal Brunei Wedding Chariot Support Limousine with black roof.



It again has six doors.



And a sketch with perfect colouring in.






The final car of interest at 8.40s coming up the rear is a brown Rolls Royce Phantom VI.



Presumable chassis number PGH130 or PGH108.



Here is a shorter video taken by the person standing next to the first video. It shows the Wedding Chariot in all its full splendor.

Thanks to Alice from Brunei for uploading the videos.