Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 49 - Jul/Aug 2025 i Rolls-Royce & Bentley Driver

Regular readers will have noticed that this issue of RollsRoyce & Bentley Driver feels chunkier than normal, thanks to it boasting an extra 32 pages to enable us to celebrate 60 years of the Silver Shadow. It’s an anniversary that simply can’t be ignored, given how significant this hi-tech newcomer was to the company when it debuted in 1965 – remaining its best-selling model for the next decade and a half. It's hard to overemphasise just what a change the Silver Shadow (and its T-series Bentley sibling) represented 60 years ago. This was the car that brought Rolls-Royce truly into the modern era, introducing monocoque construction (a first for Crewe) and sophisticated hydropneumatics for the innovative new suspension and braking systems. What sat under the bonnet was familiar stuff, with…

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced the completion of a one-off build known as the Black Badge Cullinan Daisy, inspired by a client's favourite hiking trail and featuring a wood sandblasting technique that creates a striking three-dimensional effect. A unique Daisy motif extends to the coachline, bespoke umbrellas and illuminated treadplates. The commissioning client behind the Black Badge Cullinan Daisy commented: “My love for the outdoors has been a driving force behind both my personal passions and professional success. The inspiration for this commission came from a field of daisies on my favourite trail in the High Tatras mountains – a place I return to when I need to clear my thoughts.” Martina Starke, general manager of Bespoke Design at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, explained the challenges involved: “This commission challenged us…

Send an email to rrb.ed@kelsey.co.uk or write to: The Editor, Rolls-Royce & Bentley Driver, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Kent, ME18 6AL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I read your ‘Battle of the Brits’ article [May/June 2025 issue] with great interest, as I had the pleasure of owning both a Daimler Double-Six Coupé and subsequently a Bentley T2. Firstly, though, I have to declare an interest, as during the late ’70s I was a director of three of the Rolls-Royce Motors small group of companies privatised following the collapse of the aero business in 1971. It was in 1979 that I purchased the Daimler Double-Six Coupé, which I regarded as probably the best-designed car in the world at that time. Not only was it beautiful but its V12…

Up until the arrival of the Silver Shadow, Bentley tended to rival Rolls-Royce when it came to sales success. The Silver Cloud of 1955-65, for example, was actually outsold by the Bentley S-series equivalent, with the early ‘S1’ in particular being significantly more popular than the Silver Cloud at that time. The generation before had also seen Bentley enjoying considerable success in the luxury car market. The 1946-52 MkVI sold over 5200 units in total, with its R-Type successor of 1952-55 (derived from the MkVI and featuring modified rear styling) attracting 2323 buyers. By comparison, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn (another MkVI derivative of 1949-55) achieved a mere 760 sales. The arrival of the innovative new Silver Shadow in 1965, however, marked a remarkable fall from grace for the Bentley marque.…

Among the 19 cars from the 20-Ghost Club that enjoyed the two-week tour of Tasmania were four Silver Ghosts, three Phantoms, a trio of Phantom IIs, two 20hp models, one 25/30, and two Rolls-Royce Wraiths. Notable examples included Ben Stafford and Kathleen Lakey’s 1925 Phantom, which drove all the way from Queensland; Andrew and Margaret Bayley’s 1929 Phantom II; the 1924 20hp owned by Rod and Bambi Hanson; and the 1934 20/25 of Ian and Sue Berg, a car that you’ll be reading more about very soon in Rolls-Royce & Bentley Driver. Australia has a rich heritage when it comes to the earliest Rolls-Royce models, with the country being a leading market from the outset. It is recorded that 570 Rolls-Royce and Bentley models were imported to Australia before World…

Several months ago, I bought a very rare car that’s in need of restoration, and I’ve been corresponding with many people since. It seems that probably only two of these cars were sold in Australia 75 years ago, and I wanted to meet those who’d either bought them new or who now have similar models (albeit different body styles) and many years of experience. Two in particular live reasonably close to each other, but they are about 2200km from our home in Beeac, Western Victoria, Australia… which meant that visiting them was a fair trip. Selecting the month to make the journey was easy, as I wanted to go as soon as possible after Christmas. Selecting the vehicle, however, was not so straightforward. The choices eventually came down to either…

Heritage Leather, first developed by Bentley Motors’ Mulliner division for the Continuation reincarnations of the Blower and Speed Six, can now be specified on the company’s latest models. Supplied by Bridge of Weir, Heritage Leather is claimed to give the interior of a modern Bentley the look and feel of one from the 1930s, with a two-tone finish and haircell grain. It is currently offered in two colours traditional for the period and identified in original records of historic Bentleys: Ox Blood Red and Parsons Napier Green. To showcase this new tailoring option, Bentley commissioned an example of the latest-generation Continental GT Mulliner to mirror the Factory Works Speed Six Continuation Series. Both cars (shown above) are finished in the same Bedford Grey exterior paint, and feature Heritage Leather upholstery…

Aimed at prestige vehicle owners who want the ultimate in personal accessories, MYCARALBUM is a new service that can transform your Rolls-Royce or Bentley (classic or modern) into what’s described as a “stunning photographic album”. MYCARALBUM says that it goes “beyond standard photos”, capturing the essence of your car in “exquisite detail”. The bespoke books can even include service history and scannable video links, offering a “truly immersive experience”. To find out more about the various different packages available, head to www.mycaralbum.com.…

In the 1930s, it wasn’t unusual to dispatch an older late-model luxury car back to its original manufacturer or coachbuilder to have it rebodied with something newer and more fashionable. In the case of this particular Bentley, however, the opposite was done – the old body on this car was removed and fitted to a newer car. Who would do such a thing, and why? The story of how chassis number B2DG came to exist as it does today is particularly interesting, and at the centre of the story is none other than Woolf Barnato – one of the original ‘Bentley Boys’ and a key figure in the storied history of Bentley. Known to his friends as ‘Babe’, Barnato was a sportsman, racer and promoter. He was also extremely wealthy.…

Imagine how excited any of us would have been back in 1986 if we’d just taken delivery of a brand new Silver Spur, built to order and to our own specification. It’s the kind of scenario that most of us could only dream about at the time. But then imagine how we’d feel if that very same Rolls-Royce turned out to be a disappointment, with faults that saw it being returned to Crewe for rectification and labelled on internal paperwork as the ‘Complaint Car’. Unfortunately, that’s what happened with this particular Silver Spur, which was delivered to Lord (Arnold) Weinstock – a Rolls-Royce customer of long standing – in early ’86. He was a hugely successful businessman, famous for instigating the 1963 merger between his father-in-law’s Radio & Allied Industries…

Although not strictly a version of the Silver Shadow, the new-for-1975 Camargue shared essentially the same floorpan. It appeared nine years after the debut of the last two-door Rolls-Royce (the Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward Two-Door, later renamed the Corniche), and was certainly one of the more controversial members of the clan thanks to its distinctive styling by Pininfarina. It was also one of the most expensive cars on sale in the UK, and remained so throughout its career. By 1980, for example, a brand new Silver Shadow II would have set you back £41,960, at a time when the hardtop Corniche could be had for £62,479. But both cars looked almost bargain-like compared with the Camargue, which 45 years ago carried a list price of £76,120. Rolls-Royce described the…

Three legends of the Bentley Drivers Club have been deservedly honoured, with each receiving one of the club’s newly introduced Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 88th Annual General Meeting. Harvey Hine, Jimmy Medcalf and Peter Morley – whose collective membership exceeds 200 years – received a standing ovation from their fellow members when they accepted the accolades in recognition of their unstinting efforts and success on behalf of both the club and the Bentley marque over many decades. Harvey played a major role in the BDC’s Competitions scene over many years, as well as being a contributor to The Technical Facts of the Vintage Bentley and actively involved in the club’s Vintage Spares Scheme. Today, he remains a valued advisor on insurance matters. Past President and Chairman Jimmy is arguably…

With a career spanning over 45 years at Crewe, Bernard Preston has a unique ‘from the inside’ perspective of the highs and lows that the company enjoyed and endured before the marques were separated under new ownership. When he started, the last MkVIs were being delivered, Silver Dawns were export-only, and separate chassis were still being manufactured for coachbuilders to work their craft on. For some of that career, Bernard was “the man from Rolls-Royce” (a roving service engineer), which is a role that is now embedded in the folklore of the marque. As we shall see, some of that legend is not without foundation. Sandbach born and bred, Bernard started as an office boy in the Progress Office on January 3rd, 1953, under Alan Brogden and opposite the chassis…

Bentley Motors has announced a new collaboration with The Galaxy Hotel, based in Macau, China, which has just taken delivery of the largest ever fleet of bespoke Flying Spur Mulliner models. In a move that’s said to underscore the growing demand for luxury, chauffeur-driven experiences, nine of the four-door Bentley saloons were added to the hotel’s fleet at a recent ceremony. The Galaxy Hotel collaborated with the team at Mulliner to design the luxury saloons. Each car features Pale Brodgar Mulliner paintwork detailed with the signature emblem of The Galaxy Hotel, which is hand-painted on the two front doors. Custom Galaxy Hotel puddle lamps are also included, to welcome guests as they step aboard. Inside, meanwhile, there’s Wellness Seating all round, which includes Seat Auto Climate and Postural Adjust that…

The Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation has announced a Summer Celebration Picnic for Sunday, July 13th – and all Rolls-Royce and Bentley owners and enthusiasts are invited to join in the fun, taking place at Grove Farm, Shutlanger, near Towcester (NN12 7ST), from 11am. The Foundation is hoping for a strong turnout of cars, owners and picnic hampers in the glorious surroundings of Grove Farm, to celebrate the engineering excellence of Sir Henry Royce, his contemporaries and associates. It’s an opportunity to view the cars and enjoy the friendship that the Foundation brings. There will also be a safari across the farm to ‘The Follies’ and a little light music for everyone’s entertainment To book your place, fill in the form at https://henryroyce.org.uk/events. Or if you have any queries, call…

With the Silver Shadow due to be replaced by the Silver Spirit for the 1981 model year, this photograph shows the old car’s final bodyshell being produced by the company then known as Pressed Steel Fisher (PSF). The image features workers at PSF’s Cowley-based ‘V’ plant gathered around the last ’shell. But they needn’t have worried about the loss of the Silver Shadow, as PSF was gearing up to produce bodyshells for the Silver Spirit at the company’s nearby ‘R Building’. The Silver Shadow was an important model for PSF, with around 65 bodyshells being built each week by the late 1970s – three decades after the company became involved with Rolls-Royce body production.…

It should have marked the start of an engineering dream team when, in 1931, Rolls-Royce bought arch rival Bentley. With it came the services of founder Walter Owen (WO) Bentley under contract, bringing him into the same orbit as Sir Henry Royce. A fruitful partnership between the two engineering giants could have led to great things, but instead the pair didn’t get on and Bentley found himself sidelined. When WO’s contract came up for renewal in the summer of 1935, he promptly left. So, did Rolls-Royce miss out on the opportunity to make use of Bentley’s skills and experience? Or was him being employed by the firm that had subsumed his own an arrangement that simply couldn’t work for WO? Whatever his mechanical knowhow, WO Bentley was no businessman. From…

Our last report covered some progress (if that’s the right word) that seemed to bring with it as many setbacks as it solved. Professional attention to the switchbox only delayed rather than eliminated the starting fault, while a replacement electric window motor failed just days later. Combined with the cold fingers and gloomy weather of a Scottish winter that reasserted itself well into March, it was difficult to summon up much enthusiasm for the poor old Silver Shadow. Well, what a difference a few weeks can make! Come the beginning of May, I was enjoying a warm day’s work, as fellow car nuts John Wyatt and Robb Halley allowed me to borrow a patch of gravel at their yard, near Edinburgh. First of all, credit must go to my local…