BENTLEY SPOTTING

It's the Rolls-Royce of Bentley websites.

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Rolls Royce State Landaulette by Hooper



Hooper does make very stately coaches.



They have been making them since 1807. That is 200 years ago. So much for this website being one year old.

In 1991 Hooper made this car. It is a Rolls Royce Hooper State Landaulette.



Quite an impressive and stately vehicle indeed. Hooper also made a Silver Spur Landaulette version featured here.



This car is a landaulette version of Hoopers' Emperor limousine, which is similar to the Park Ward Limousine.

The interior is just fantastic. Four seats, a laptop computer, plenty of booze and the mandatory champagne flutes. Very appropriate for chariot riding.



This car did make an appearance at the 1991 Sydney International Motor show. I am unaware where this vehicle ended up in the world. But I doubt that it stayed downunder. The tall poppy syndrome would have quenched that.



Let's have a quick look at the competition. In a couple of weeks at the Dubai Motor show Mercedes Benz with show the Maybach 62 Landaulet.

Here is a sneak peek.



Sales of the Maybach have been quite poor, and many 'Maybach Centres of Excellence' have been decommissioned.



Mercedes Benz no longer release global sales figures as they have been so far under expectation. Zero have been sold in Australia in the last couple of years. Not a good sign.

They have had to do something, and here it is. A Landaulet version of their largest car.



The obvious problem is that there is not much difference between the Mercedes Benz S class and the Maybach. They look similar, except the price difference is massive. So different that it is just not worth it.

I like the fact that there is now a Landaulet car on the new car market, but really, that is what a coach builder is for.



I am still waiting for Bentley to make a Bentley Brooklands SC or Sedanca Coupé as explained here.

Pictures (Hooper, Mercedes Benz)

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2 Comments:

At 8:54 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

here's the original drawing of the landaulette
[IMG]http://i227.photobucket.com/albums/dd206/sirneil/scan0021.jpg[/IMG]
this car was intended to drive the winners of the australian grand prix around the circuit after the race had finished......
we never completed the car on time.

 
At 10:28 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Hooper RR State Landaulette arrived in Australia in November 1992 and appeared at the 1993 Brisbane, Melbourne & Perth Motorshows plus many charity events in Sydney & Melbourne. It was commissioned by Stephen Berry of Sydney and in late 1994 it went to a new owner on the island of Gersey and is in a private collection.

 

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