RE: Bentley plots first ever pre-war continuation car

[RichB]

It was the portmanteau of off-road and road-worthy that I found amusing.

Anyway, Blockley tyres are well regarded by pre-war drivers, both on track and on the road. Founded by well known Bugatti racer, Julian Majzub.

[Numeric]

I was driving down the M40 once and a simply vast Bentley that looked like one of these came past - (i don't hang about so serious quick) - manic lunatic sawing at this huge steering wheel like toad in full glory!

It was magnificent and this is at least 15 years ago and I remember it clearly - till you see one of these at full tilt in an entirely normal environment you simply can't imagine the shock and awe they bring to any party - i have never seen so many simply stunned people on a motorway!

[Bill Ferry]

Erm.. can I just point out, that there are other "continuations" on the go at this time.?
Clearly the writers here have gotten VERY excited in this lovely article, and I too am a HUGE vintage Bentley fan, but in the excitement the availability of new build ALVIS 4.3 cars appears to have been overlooked.?
Sighhhhh..
Ain't life grand.
Stay safe.
Stay well.
WF

[Kipsrs]

Shame I’m a bit late to the party but I absolutely love these cars, in my very humble opinion THE quintessential English Gentleman’s vehicle of choice to run around the estate and up to town!
Blinding recreation - which even though a recreation still very much out of reach of most who would like to think they are gentlemen, which I’m quite glad about.
If I could afford one I’d be having one and using it. . . not that I have an estate nor just run up to town, I do like to think I’m a gentleman though.
I hope they are bought and used and not put in collections.
Bravo.

[tiggyzak]

No ones said it yet so I will.......

Unbelievable craftsmanship !

Well done.

[CrunkleFloop]

I like it....

With the exception of the mottled leather which looks like cheap vinyl and the welds on the exhaust look a little amateur for a car of this calibre.

[geo1905]

Well, why not ? It looks fantastic and, if it can be made road legal, at least it can be used and enjoyed. There is a Swiss registered company with English premises, R-Re-Forged, who specialise in adapting these continuation cars to comply with regulations which then enable them to be used legally. I believe they're doing this with some of the 007 Astons. Maybe they can do this with the Blowers ? Of course, they won't have the patina (not patEENA !) of the original cars but they probably won't break down either !

[Ocho]

CrunkleFloop said:

I like it....

With the exception of the mottled leather which looks like cheap vinyl and the welds on the exhaust look a little amateur for a car of this calibre.

I noticed the welds too and wondered if they had deliberately been done that way to add authenticity - perhaps back then the detail hadn't stretched as far as neat welds?

[AJM6]

I 'd really love to like this.

I have the utmost respect for the crafts people involved and am delighted that these skills are being preserved. And people are free to spend their hard earned on whatever they choose.

However, just as it would be ridiculous to commission an exact replica of a Vermeer using a computer to emulate every brush stroke with highly skilled artists applying the paint itself, so is this.

Why?

Because it misses the point of a work of art, or any artefact of historic importance.

In the continuation cars, there is,

no story
no romance
no heart
and no soul.

And without the original creative spark, these simply cannot be recreated and somehow injected into a copy, however faithful to the original.

What's left is an expensive well made object. And there is something utterly joyless in that. If you have the funds, buy a real one.

[RichB]

AJM6 said:

<clip>

no story
no romance
no heart
and no soul

Must confess that's how I feel about these. In any case there is already Bob Petersen if you want a repro vintage Bentley.
I love these old cars and indeed I own a 1933 vintage Lagonda but half the fun of that is tracking the old stories, finding previous owners, having a thick file of paperwork going back to the 1950s - I can't get back to pre-war as the trace goes cold. I love the fact that it's difficult to drive, it would lose all of the charm if it drove like a modern car.

Edited by RichB on Friday 11th December 09:40

[BlackandWhite]

Dolly the sheep of cars. Impressive no question about it but comes from a consciousness that doesn’t see what it’s missing.

[21st Century Man]

This is not the first Blower built by Bentley Mulliner in 90 years because the Blower wasn't built by Bentley and it wasn't a Bentley model. For the same reason it is also disingenuous to describe it as a continuation. W.O. did not approve, hated it in fact. Tim and Dotty who built the original Blowers would be quite amused though.

[GT3-RS]

this car wont be road legal so don't expect to see it on the road.........it won't pass the IVA / SVA test as a new build the exact same reason a Pur Sang Type 35 or 51 Bugatti isn't road legal as it too is considered a new build and does't pass the IVA / SVA.....it has something to do with the front axle being forward mounted of the grille/body and the wheels turning outside of the body line......actual Historic cars are exempt but new rules defining an Historic car and the parts that constitute that have been under review lately by the DVLA......

[RichB]

GT3-RS said:

this car won't be road legal so don't expect to see it on the road.........it won't pass the IVA / SVA test as a new build the exact same reason a Pur Sang Type 35 or 51 Bugatti isn't road legal <clip>

Is that strictly true though? Are there ways around this? Probably not if if is because of the front wheels but surely there are Pur Sangs on the road?