Rolls-Royce and Bentley Sales

Recent Events

Bonhams' Auction December 2007

The Rolls-Royce 10hp car, 20154 registered U 44, was sold for just over £3m at the above auction.  The car is the only Rolls-Royce in existence eligible for the London Brighton run held in November each year.  In 1904 the car was exhibited at the Paris Salon and then in 1905 at the Olympia Motor Exhibition.

There are believed to be three other of the two cylinder 10hp model in existence - one in private hands, one at the Science Museum and another in the bentley Motors collection.

2007 London to Brighton

A beautiful November day saw us travelling to the BDC meet south of London to watch the London to Brighton cars.  The venue was great and we were able to watch the vast majority of the entrants pass by.

Here they come!

One of the entrants stops for the passengers' refreshment.

A couple of more modern vehicles!

BDC Weekend in Norfolk

The Eastern region of the BDC organised a great weekend in Norfolk with Tim really being a driver of many of the activities.  We chose to visit the steam museum in the morning and Sandringham later in the day.

Inside the Forncett museum.

Cars lined up at Forncett Steam Museum.

The cars parked up at Sandringham, Norfolk

Goodwood Revival September 2007

The weather was kind once again as we travelled to the Revival in convoy with a number of other Overton maintained vehicles.

It was a great day with a tremendous atmosphere and those un-mistakeable air displays too.

An Overton rebuild spotted in the Goodwood Revival car park, September 2007.

Stirling Moss on book signing duty.

Statue of Douglas Bader at the Goodwood circuit.

Up close to the fighters.

HJ Mulliner Flying Spur 50th Birthday

This event was run by the R-REC on 26 August 2007 and was held at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre in Hertfordshire.  The weather was great an d number of superb cars were on show at Salisbury Hall where the mosquito design team was based in September 1939.

Overview of the cars on show.

The great Mosquito aircraft with Rolls-Royce Merlin power plants.

de Havilland at work.

R-REC Wheels on Road, Stowe

Stowe had been a favourite venue of the Club in the past and as it was a driving event to celebrate the 50th anniversary we decided to drive there and back in the R-Type for the day.  The weather was great and the Paulerspury Section made us most welcome with about 50 cars being present.

R-REC, Ipswich Transport Museum Visit

The S2, originally owned by Channel Airways in 1961, was of interest to the curators of the museum that had a feature on Channel Airways on display within the museum.  

A large number of cars from the Essex section attended the event that was followed by a lunch at Dedham Boathouse or a picnic by the river for others.

De Havilland Dove owned by Channel airways being prepared for the next day.

Write up at the Ipswich Transport Museum about the activities of Channel Airways at Ipswich Airport.

BDC Concours

Once again held at Rousham House - this year again as in the case of the R-REC rather damp with one or two vehicles getting bogged in the entrance!  Fortunately once on site there were only a few showers and the large area of marquee and plenty of umbrellas meant the weather did not spoil the day.

The final stages of the Peking - Paris rally meant that there were a few judges short but with a few stand ins drafted in the formalities of the day seem ed to go well.

Immaculate 4.5 litre in judging section.

Master class 3 litre team car.

4.5 litre blown single seater.

"Old number One" in the marquee.

R-REC Concours and Rally

The 50th Anniversary Rally was held at Kelmarsh Hall in the UK on the 16th 17th June.  The field was rather wet on Saturday but dried out remarkably well in time for the main event and concours judging on the Sunday.

Latest product from Rolls-Royce Motors, Goodwood.

The Silver Ghost centenary was celebrated in great style with a parade around the ring at midday - probably a unique event seeing so many great machines that are such an important part of the Rolls-Royce story.

AX  201, The Silver Ghost, followed by the 1907 Wagonette SU76.

At 15:30 we were also witness to a fantastic air display with the Hawker Hurricane Mk I joining the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Lancaster PA474 in both 100 Sqn and 550 Sqn colours.

Battle of Britain Memorial flight.

Lancaster PA474 holds the crowd's attention.

Fighter's Rolls-Royce Merlin sound track cannot be repeated here I'm afraid!

P and A Wood 40 Years

P and A Wood celebrated 40 years in the business and 100 years of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost at their Great Easton operation on 6 May 2007.  It was a fantastic day with many great attractions from the word of Rolls-Royce.  In addition tie the cars there were aerial attractions including displays from the Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire - all powered by Rolls-Royce.

The star of the show - AX 201 - "The Silver Ghost".

The Lancaster in the fly past at 2pm.

Bentley R-Type Continental flanked by a WO.

Paul and Karl-Heinz with the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation

On 1 December 2006 the R Type special RSJ 760 was awarded the great honour of sharing a lecture theatre with the Silver Ghost, AX201, while the Foundation's In Pursuit of Excellence Award was presented to the owner.

This is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious awards in the industry with previous recipients including MIRA, The Royal Mews, Cosworth Engineering and P and A Wood.

Below is a shot of the car in the lecture theatre and of the associated silver ware.

RSJ 760 in the Hunt House complex during the recent Sir Henry Royce Memorial foundation lecture by Jonathan Wood.

Certificate of merit and the In Pursuit of Excellence Trophy.

Bentley Motor Car Production: Diamond Anniversary at Crewe 2006

2006 is the the 60th anniversary of car production at the Crewe site of Bentley Motors.  Following the acquisition of the business by the VW group about £500m has been invested in the Crewe site.  New products developed have included the 6.75 litre Arnage, Continental GT, Continental GTC and Continental Flying Spur amongst others.

In early September the factory was opened to all past and present employees and guests to see the changes that have taken place on site.  In addition to many static displays within the factory the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club and Bentley Drivers' Club supplied cars from the early post war era for display.  About half a dozen Overton vehicle customers were in attendance.

1953 R-Type Special and 1952 R-Type Continental fastback by HJ Mulliner at the Crewe factory.

Franz-Josef Paefgen, the Chairman of Bentley Motors, addresses the gathered diners after the Crewe factory tour.

A unique Facel bodied Bentley Mark VI joined the 60 year celebration gathering.

Bentley Drivers Club: 2006 Silverstone Race Meet

The Bentley drivers' Club annual race meet at Silverstone is always a fantastic event and this year was no exception.  The weather  was good in the morning and there was a vast array of cars present, including many of the Bentley mark VI and R-Type derivatives that paraded in pride of place to commemorate 60 years of the Mark VI.

After the parade the racing commenced in earnest.  Due to the deteriorating some of the afternoon races were tempered by a very slippery surface - however that did not seem to stop the thunderous Bentley Napier performing in its usual manner.

The Napier engined WO chassis that always entertains the crowds - this year was no exception, even in the wet it crushed the opposition with its straight line performance.

A quick fan belt change for the parade leader Malcolm Hobbs before the off.

Lord Milbank of Crewe with his Bentley Mark VI ready to join the parade.

Current Bentley cars displayed at Silverstone, including the Continental GT and Flying Spur.

It is good to see that the Bentley Turbo R models are now being raced regularly and adapted to a very high specification.

Shot of the start straight showing the appalling conditions that tempered the weight of the right foot of many drivers - Bentley Napier however still out in front!

Classic Le Mans: Visit to France 2006

The "Classic Le Mans" is becoming a regular event for us to attend now - well we've made it to 2 out of 3!  This is a really good event for the classic car enthusiast with all the positive points of the 24 hour race such as good racing, the French roads, good food and drink without the massive crowds.

There were 396 historic racers present over the weekend with an age range from 1923 up to 1979 and races were arranged in six vehicle age related groupings. That meant that everyone had three races in the 24 hours - if they had no serious mechanical mishap along the way!

There were about 50,000 spectators in all with 150 clubs represented and about 5,000 classic cars on display.  This is fast becoming on e of the biggest European classic car meets in the calendars.

A group of about half a dozen of us traveled in convoy - the oldest car being a Mark VI the youngest a 2006 Corvette!  All in all a great weekend to see the vintage WO Bentley cars in action at the Le Mans circuit in the spirit of the Bentley Boys!

A quick pit stop for the group on the way to the circuit - MGA at the front of the picture, followed by the Bentley Mark VI and then the Corvette C6.

WO Bentley car ready for the 2006 Classic start - Le Mans style of course!

Of course great company is what makes these trips memorable - a few of the team members enjoying the French food and beverages at a nearby hostel!

Bentley Drivers Club: 2006 Annual Concours

The 2006 event was a great success.  This was the 60th Summer Rally and took place at Rousham House and Gardens.  We traveled down on the Saturday morning - the car was drenched unfortunately got to Oxfordshire but when we arrived the sun had come out and we were able to give the car a good clean - at least on top.

The R-Type Special that we had taken successfully won its class despite stiff opposition.  All the hard work by many parties paid off - many thanks to Ted, Ray, David and James Pearce, Mick Hayward and Peter Martin.  The opposition was strong as noted - a really good Special made by Jim Hands that had won previously and a fantastic professionally created track car with a V8 engine fitted.

All in all a great day in the 70th anniversary year of the Bentley Drivers' Club.

1953 R-Type Special.

Latest Bentley Continental GTC.

[ Home ]

Copyright © 2006 Overton Vehicle Overhauls
Last modified: January 01, 2008