Innehållsförteckning för Issue 38 - Sept/Oct 2023 från Rolls-Royce & Bentley Driver

A little while ago, we asked for the views of our readers and those who follow the magazine's Facebook page on having more technical content in RR&BD – and received a thumbs-up. Around the same time, a serendipitous email from our friends at Flying Spares suggested sharing a bit of their own vast knowledge in print, so a new feature was born. ‘In The Workshop' begins on page 82 with some basic service tasks, approached in the methodical, careful manner Rolls-Royces and Bentleys deserve. Ideas for other topics and models to cover in this series will be welcome. Our cover car is the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, which performed a sharp U-turn from used car depreciation to classic car appreciation a few years ago, unnoticed by many. Nowadays, it's worth perhaps…

Designing a new Rolls-Royce must be a nerve-shredding business. The basic shape of the Bentley Mk VI / Silver Dawn / R-type standard steel saloon lasted almost 10 years and the Silver Cloud's form lasted another 10 years. The Silver Shadow managed 15 years and the Silver Spirit almost 20. The Silver Seraph, then, would have had to last beyond 2010. Traditionally, Rolls-Royce stylists had managed this by dodging the most fashionable modernity, so the shape was less likely to look dated after a few years. This is a hugely difficult judgement, and the near decade-long development time of Rolls-Royce models made it harder still, especially looking toward the 21st century. Nonetheless, chief designer Graham Hull and his team made a success of the Silver Seraph's styling, in part by…

FEATURE CAR BENTLEY MK VI There is an old saying that states ‘life is what happens while you're busy making other plans', and it's a good one to remember from time to time. Planning is useful, sometimes even vital, but too much of it tends towards daydreaming. And dreaming isn't the same as doing. Alan Goddard is clearly one of life's do-ers. He sought out a car specifically to complete the long-distance tours and rallies he looked forward to on retirement. Alan had always fancied a Bentley and spoke to a friend in the RREC at Paulerspury, near his old home. This friend knew of a car that might be for sale, and it sounded promising. The vendor, a proper enthusiast, had owned the car for several years, used it…

FEATURE CAR BENTLEY CONTINENTAL CONVERTIBLE The car that comes to mind when you hear ‘Bentley Continental' must vary with the age of cars that interests you most, and perhaps with your own age. Those with a fondness for the great classics would be picturing a fastback R-type by Mulliner, or perhaps one of the glamorous drophead coupés built on S2 or S3 chassis. Those who admire the potency and driver appeal of 21st century Bentleys will be thinking of the Continental GT or GTC, the car on which Bentley's current success and record sales are based. There may indeed be those who thought of the mighty Continental R and T of the 1990s and early 2000s. But would there be anyone, apart from the owners, who pictured this Bentley version…

Christopher Woodhouse's beautiful 1930 Speed Six Le Mans, clothed in stunning Vanden Plas bodywork, was named as the overall Concours winner at the BDC's 75th Summer Concours & Party. The event – title sponsored by NW Risk Solutions, the Club's new insurance adviser – was held yesterday in the idyllic rural surroundings of the 124-acre Kelmarsh Hall & Gardens parkland estate in Northamptonshire. A delighted Christopher was presented with the prestigious WO Bentley Memorial Foundation Trophy by Club Chairman Phillip Hine in front of the main house. Well done, too, to Christopher's fellow Club Member Robert Hickman whose superb 1937 Derby 4¼ won the coveted Bentley Motors Trophy, also presented by Phillip, as the overall Patina class winner. In all, 14 awards were presented in the various Concours and Patina…

The summer of 2023 saw a remarkable dual 100th birthday celebration at Le Mans, first for the ‘modern' race in late May and then at the Le Mans Classic on the first weekend in July. The Classic naturally encompassed many more historic cars and saw the running of a truly unique event as a support race to the main grids – over 70 vintage Bentleys entered for a seven-lap race of the immortal 13km track. The scale of this event, organised by Benjafield's Racing Club, was possible because of the vast track length and spacious grid at Le Mans, and couldn't be repeated at any ‘normal' circuit. Even with 75 spaces available, the event was soon over-subscribed, mainly from the UK and Europe, but from as far afield as USA,…

The Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club enjoyed another superb weekend at Burghley House (just outside Stamford, Peterborough) in June 2023 for their Annual Rally & Concours d'Elegance. With over 750 tickets sold before the weekend, and plenty more people arriving on the day, this year's Annual Rally is the largest since the pandemic. Over 360 stunning cars were parked in class lines on the Burghley House lawns on the Sunday, and over 1,000 cars attend in total over the course of the weekend. Despite forecast thunderstorms, the weather was (thankfully) hot and sunny throughout the weekend. Members were able to enjoy great company, good music – provided by J for Jazz and the Yarwell & Nassington Britannia Brass Band – and, most importantly, spectacular cars. There was also the opportunity on the…

PERSONAL CHOICE ALAN ESAM It's 2021. The world is still in lockdown and thoughts turn to the car I've always wanted. With lots of time to spend on the internet it is easy to become familiar with the marque, the various models and prices. Eventually focus narrows to the model of choice: the Silver Spur. Before long, every example for sale in the UK, as well as others across Europe, is identified. I discuss my findings with my friend Dave Richards who has over 40 years motor trade experience. I'm anxious not to go into this purchase without proper background research, due diligence when viewing and the assurance of a knowledgeable and willing mechanic after purchase. Dave has experience of working on these cars and is willing to provide service…

Frustration seems to be the name of the game with this car at the moment. In the report before last, we concluded with the efforts to get the transmission selector to find Park for us, but were frustrated by an intermittent bad connection. Last issue's report consisted of a carburettor set-up and tuning session that ended with disgrace when the car pumped a large quantity of petrol onto the newlypainted floor of the garage I share with some friends, via the carb overflow. How will we get on this time? Spoiler alert: frustration is involved, but so is relief that things weren't worse. We finished the last report with the carburettor and intake assembly on the bench. Removing this lot is a bit of a fiddle, because it involves separating…

The story of the pre-war Bentley Corniche is one enveloped in mystery and myth. Rolls-Royce's attempt to inject some joie de vivre back into its Bentley acquisition was cut short by World War Two, ending in the flames of a bombing raid as Germany invaded France. Or was it? Were there other Corniches that made it through the conflict, only to be destroyed once it was all over? Did parts survive, to be reused for the recreation reborn 80 years later for Bentley's 100th birthday? Was its creator really a dentist by day, stylist by night and later a British spy? The urban legends surrounding this very special and beautiful Bentley are many and muddled but one thing is certain; it continues to fascinate and enchant to this day. Bentley's…

One piece of advice I remember receiving when I was seriously considering a Mk VI or R-type Bentley was this: ‘stay away from the coachbuilt versions and stick to the Standard Steel saloons.' The reason for this rather spoilsport approach was simple enough; at the lower to middle end of the market, you can expect to find body repairs that need doing, and doing them right to coachbuilt Bentleys of the 1950s can be a scary prospect. But not scary enough, as it turns out, to deter Ernie Warrender. Ernie has a few very interesting cars, and we featured his much-loved vintage Bentley 3-litre a few issues back. But the bulk of his interest lies with post-war machinery, and he purchased this 1958 James Youngbodied Bentley S1 just over a…

Welcome to the first in this new series of Rolls-Royce & Bentley Driver technical guides. Getting hands-on with our test cars is the best thing about my job and I look forward to sharing my knowledge with you, including things about certain models that you only learn by experience. Over the coming months we'll cover essential service and maintenance tasks – the types of jobs that many owners like to do themselves – as well as looking at some common fixes and more challenging repairs. For this first guide, on summer motoring fluid checks, we'll be using our 1990 Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit II. We've been doing a lot of work on power steering racks with this car recently, developing new reconditioning processes to address increasingly common issues across the SZ…