1953 Bentley crashed into a concrete culvert near Crosby Texas, and appears to be a total loss Thanks Gary!

https://twitter.com/HCSO_NightShift

can anyone give one good reason neither Ford, Chevy, or Dodge ever made a business connection with Stetson, because today I learn that Bentley did!

Stetson partnered with Bentley Dallas on the Bentayga Stetson Special Edition.

Stetson hats is about 150 years old, and is a legendary heritage name, much like Ford, Dodge, and Chevrolet.

So how did the big 3 miss the glaring obvious western truck or car connection with Stetson hats?
The Mustang, Maverick, Ranchero, Durango, Colorado, Bronco, Silverado, Tahoe, El Camino, Lone Star Ram 2500, King Ranch F250 are just a few models that could have made a logical connection for Western enthusiasts with a special edition trim level

https://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2019/09/bentley-stetson.html

Ever hear of Rexzine? It's the curious material that Bentley once used around their car bodies. Mysteriously, no one knows exactly what it was.

See how whatever isn't fenders and hood is a material that looks like leather?

Early Bentley’s came with a fabric body called Rexine. When world-renowned collector Peter Livanos found his 1929 open tourer with body by Vanden Plas, the car was in sorry shape. To make matters worse, no one knew the recipe for Rexine—it had been lost for decades after fabric bodies fell out of favor—so restorers turned to other fabrics as replacements.

But, says Graham Moss, a Bentley restorer spent years tracking down the right mix to produce Rexine. And just as he honed in, his friend and Bentley historian learned of an existing, long unused Rexine machine in an abandoned English factory in the process of being demolished.

Long story short, Hartley’s Bentley was the first to receive a brand new, period correct body.

http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/arts_culture_blog/the-cars-the-shows-and-the-dreary-economic-warning-a/article_fab3be28-c37f-11e9-8486-2b35d92b0f62.html

https://www.lbsbind.com/documents/cms/docs/FabricOctane.pdf

Bentley wants to take the best time for a production car, at Pikes Peak, on June 30th ... they'll have to beat a 10.26

Former ‘King of the Mountain’ and Pikes Peak veteran Rhys Millen, will drive the Continental GT during the record attempt, and it's been wrapped in a similar looking vinyl wrap to the Bentley Bentayga that he drove for Bentley last year, winning it's class.

Keep in mind that last year VW, who owns Bentley, make a lot of effort at Pikes Peak with Romain Dumas driving that electric race car ... maybe to get us to forget the smog scandal?
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/06/blazing-across-14110ft-finish-line-at-7.html
 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2018/07/2-time-overall-pikes-peak-champ-rhys.html

https://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2019/06/bentley-takes-on-pikes-peak.html

I just learned that Bentley was bought up after bankruptcy in 1921, by Rolls Royce

Bentley was severely hit by the Great Depression and in 1931, Barnato notified the lenders he is no longer able to meet the debts he had guaranteed for. The court appointed a Receiver to Bentley and in November 1931, the company was bought by the British Central Equitable Trust which was in reality Rolls-Royce. From the acquisition of Bentley by Rolls-Royce, the future development of both car producers became intertwined with Bentley being dependant on the Rolls-Royce’s owner.

http://www.rolls-royceandbentley.co.uk/

during the nearly 70-year stretch that Rolls owned Bentley, that the brands were virtually identical, save for their distinctive hood ornaments.

They seperated in 1998, and now Rolls-Royce is owned by BMW, and Bentley by Volkswagen AG,

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joannmuller/2018/02/13/separated-at-rebirth-rolls-royce-and-bentley-are-traveling-different-roads-to-success/#2aed0e6d7c0c

1936 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Vanden Plas Tourer, 1 of 6 like it made, and the only one left with its original body. Bought in 1952, driven until 1988, parked in a garage since then. Thanks Gary!

and when pulled out by the inheritors, and will be sold at auction

https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/8661647/wrecked-1936-bentley-once-owned-by-war-hero-who-bombed-hitler-to-go-on-sale-for-200000-after-30-years-hidden-away/
https://www.foxnews.com/auto/rusty-barn-find-car-owned-by-pilot-who-helped-bomb-hitlers-eagles-nest-sold-for-small-fortune

the 1956 Beatles Bentley

Now known as the ‘Beatles Bentley’, the 1956 S1 standard steel saloon was once the property of 1960s fashion entrepreneur, Australian-born John Crittle.

Crittle cut his teeth in psychedelic ‘60s tailoring working at Hung On You in Chelsea. The shop sold the classic outfits of the period: Art Nouveau, elaborate collared and cuffed shirts, tailored, high-collar double-breasted suits, and flowery shirts and ties to Hendrix, The Who, Bowie and the Stones.

Expanding with the backing of 21-year-old Guinness heir Tara Browne (shortly to be killed in a Lotus Elan, the inspiration for John Lennon to write ‘A Day in the Life’) and Neil Winterbotham, Crittle opened his own shop, Dandie Fashions, in autumn 1966.

https://flashbak.com/psychedelic-fashion-in-london-october-1967-396832/

With business booming, Crittle had bought the then 10-year-old Bentley as a party machine. The color scheme was designed by the art student trio of Douglas Binder, Dudley Edwards and David Vaughn. Known as ‘BEV’, the threesome were first engaged by Tara Browne to paint the King’s Road storefront of Dandie (having also decorated his AC Cobra in a similar fashion), then moving on to the Bentley.

And the Beatles connection? Trading as ‘Apple Corps’, the famous foursome had started several business ventures, partly for tax reasons and partly in the spirit of the times. There was little profit to be made - but it was either put some money into the hands of like-minded young people or give it to the taxman.

Doug Binder is seen by many as the father of pop-psychedelic painting and built a close relationship with The Beatles around the time they were writing and recording Sgt Pepper. Paul McCartney commissioned Binder to paint his piano and he also did the Buick for The Kinks, Philips records and even exported work to Macy’s department store in New York.

Dudley Edwards had the unique claim to fame of living with Paul McCartney for six months and then Ringo Starr for six months whilst completing murals in their respective houses. He also painted the AC Cobra for Irish socialite Tara Browne.

David Vaughan was the ‘manager’ of the BEV collective but also had a successful artistic career of his own including commissions from Pan Am and Princess Margaret. Unfortunately, he had a nasty accident while painting a mural on the Lord John shop in Carnaby Street and plunged three storeys to the ground.

Thanks to links with Browne, supplying the Beatles with clothes and generally being in the scene, Crittle’s Dandie Fashions was absorbed into Apple Corps and the Chelsea store renamed ‘Apple Tailoring’. The new venture did not last long, though, as the whole ‘Beatles and business’ scene soon wound down.

The car was on the balance sheet of the Apple Corporation while it owned the clothes shop, therefore becoming another honourable member of that exclusive club, a genuine ‘Beatles car’.

http://devotestudio.com/work/branding-identities/beatles-bentley/

http://clasp42.rssing.com/browser.php?indx=14584416&item=360
http://beatlesbentley.com/details.shtml
https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/%E2%80%98beatles-bentley%E2%80%99-baby-you-can-drive-my-car
http://www.voicesofeastanglia.com/2018/02/bev-design-collective-colourful-characters.html

side note to the Beatles and Apple Corps:

In January of 1968, the group had their company name, Beatles Ltd. officially changed to Apple Corps. Ltd. and registered the Apple trademark in forty-seven countries. A month later, they also registered Apple Electronics, Apple Films Ltd., Apple Management, Apple Music Publishing, Apple Overseas, Apple Publicity, Apple Records, Apple Retail, and Apple Tailoring Civil and Theatrical.

The multi-armed corporation intended to focus on five divisions: records, electronics, film, publishing and retailing. Coincidentally, John Lennon even wanted to revolutionize the consumer electronics market

In 1976, a 21-year old Steve Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak founded a computer company and decided to call it “Apple”. But they neglected to ask the biggest band in rock’n’roll whether anyone would mind if they infringed on the trademarked Apple name. George Harrison spotted an advert for Apple Computer while flicking through a British magazine …

In 1978, Apple Corps hit Apple Computer with the first lawsuit. In a 1981 settlement, $80,000 was paid to the Beatles’ Apple Corps by Apple Computer on the agreed terms that Apple Corps would not enter the computer business and Apple Computer would not enter the music business.

A second lawsuit came in 1991 over claims that Apple Computer was distributing physical music materials, after the inclusion of a sampled system sound called "Chimes" to the Macintosh operating system. The chimes system sound was later renamed sosumi, which reads phonetically, “so sue me”.

A settlement of $26.5 million was paid out to Apple Corps, this time specifically agreeing that only Apple Corps held the right to use the Apple name on any “creative works whose principal content is music”. While Apple Computer held the right to use Apple on “goods or services…used to reproduce, run, play or otherwise deliver” music, it could not package, sell or distribute physical music materials.

In breach of their 1991 agreement with the Beatles, Apple launched iTunes in 2003. A four-year long lawsuit resulted in a confidential settlement. More than four decades after Steve Jobs had founded Apple Inc., the ongoing trademark battle was finally over. It is believed Apple Inc coughed up as much as $500 million to buy out Apple Corps’ trademark rights.

At the time, Steve Jobs said, “We love the Beatles, and it has been painful being at odds with them over these trademarks. It feels great to resolve this in a positive manner, and in a way that should remove the potential of further disagreements in the future.”

Seven years after the online music store had launched, you could finally buy a Beatles tune on iTunes.

https://www.messynessychic.com/2013/07/03/before-mac-the-beatles-and-their-1960s-apple-store/

better ask your wife first!

In the early 1960s a Chicago orthopedic surgeon imported this 1925 3 liter 4 seat tourer
 
The good Doctor forgot to inform his wife he had ordered a vintage Bentley from England and was forced to promptly sell the car to his friend

https://images2.bonhams.com/original?src=Images/live/2017-05/09/S-24143-0-1.pdf

a 58 Bentley that Saddam Hussein admired, and confiscated, has made it's way to Michigan to get restored

The Bentley left England when purchased by Iraqi Prince Abd al-llah, but he only had a few months to enjoy it; he was killed in the 1958 Iraqi coup.

 Ten years later the car was acquired by Baghdad businessman named Janabi, who painted it white to use for his son’s wedding. The car then appeared in the 1992 Iraqi film King Ghazi, which garnered the attention of dictator Saddam Hussein.

Saddam allegedly first offered to buy the car, but after several refusals simply took the Bentley for his own collection and applied a silver and blue two-tone paint. Janabi still had the ownership documents when Saddam was ousted, and recovered the car... after some bullets vented the fender

Jim George purchased the tattered remains in 2015 and shipped them to Florida for a 17-month stay at Richard Gorman’s Vantage Motor Works in North Miami.

To commence its second life in style, the car appeared at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/1958-bentley-stolen-by-saddam-hussein-and-destroyed-in-iraq-war-restored-in-usa

W O Bentley mounted one of his aero engines to a car. Not as a means of propulsion though, just as a way of displaying the aero engine.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/479965145420758/permalink/1805880496162543/

2 time overall Pikes Peak champ Rhys Millen drove a Bentley Bentayga up Pikes Peak to clobber the 2012 time set by a Range Rover Sport by 90 seconds, and in terms of past records, the Bentley was faster than Bobby Unser's 1986 world-record back when the course wasn’t paved.

It's a new production SUV record for Pikes peak. 600 hp... that's going to get the job done.

I see in the video that he takes most corners with only a 1/4 turn of the steering. That's got to save a lot of effort



https://www.automobilemag.com/news/bone-stock-bentley-bentayga-cinches-pikes-peak-suv-record/

A Bentley came up for auction after 50 years of storage subsequent to a garage beginning a ‘light restoration’ which actually only got as far as removing half the paint and sending the bright work off to the chromers.

This remarkably original ‘Derby’ Bentley 3 ½ litre has been dry stored for fifty years. Its last MoT shows April 1965 and since then it has lived in the corner of the garage of a Renault dealership

Built with a Thrupp and Maberley body, in this case a three-position – fully folded or ‘De Ville’ - 4/5 seater drop head coupe with ‘heavy duty’ bumpers (with harmonic stabilizers) and factory wheel discs.

Purchased by a newspaper owner in 1934, then sold in 1952, to a director of a phone company, with  37,000 miles, who put another 30,000 miles on the Bentley as a weekend car between 1952 and his death in 1965.

During that time, AYK789 was looked after by L.G Motors, a family run business headed by Arthur Gold, who worked in national and international sports administration leading British teams to the Mexican, Munich and Montreal Olympics.

 Arthur Gold bought the Bentley from Mr. Mason’s widow in 1965 for £180, and an engineer’s report he wrote on AYK789 at the time, shows that it was still in very sound condition in the mid-sixties and fully usable. He used the car for the summer of '65 before embarking on a ‘light restoration’ which actually only got as far as removing half the paint and sending the bumpers and all the other bright work off to the chromers.

The re-plated parts were returned and are still wrapped in 1967 newspaper in the boot.

Meanwhile L.G Motors was going through many changes, in business and location, and the Bentley went with it, always with the intention that that it would be put back together someday. However, Arthur Gold was becoming increasingly distracted with his work with athletics administration and his successful Renault sales and servicing business, and inevitably the Bentley was not a priority, although the file shows he made various attempts to find parts in the seventies and get the project under way again as Derby values began to increase.

It was sold at Auction in 2015

https://www.silverstoneauctions.com/1934-bentley-3-12-litre-three-position-drophead-coupe-by-thrupp--maberly
http://thesteepletimes.com/opulence-splendour/its-in-the-mail/
http://hazelhomeartandantiques.blogspot.com/2015/09/barn-find-bentley-from-steeple-times.html

58 Bentley and 58 Rolls. Not much difference, and they were made by the same company

What was the point of making the Bentley? For people who wouldn't spring for the full price of the over priced Rolls?

1930 Bentley with Merlin engine.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/aero-engined-vintage-racers.221543/page-17

The amazing people at the Medcalf Collection have finally finished the restoration of the house Bentley, UP 2100, that one in pieces and parts all over batchelors 2 story home... the 1928 one of a kind?

I posted the original story 2 years ago http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2015/12/a-1928-45-litre-bentley-one-of-8-taken.html

and today the refreshed and refinished Bentley is news on the Gentleman Racer http://www.thegentlemanracer.com/2017/11/house-find-bentley.html

The disassembled Bentley that had been resting for 58 years in London was repatriated to the West Sussex works of William Medcalf Vintage Bentley, where the talented team got to work on preserving the car’s originality. The engine still wears its original lead seal as fitted new in 1928, as well as its original finishes. The interior wood and gauges have all just been painstakingly cleaned.

Gary Wales latest, a classic Bentley.

one of the art students was killing it with this mixed media - ink and watercolor

1929 Bentley towing a 1988 Porsche 968 from Surrey in the UK, to an event at the Angouleme Circuit des Remparts in France.

Overington, who owns a classic-car vacation company, said that his friends asked him to display the 962 at the French circuit, but he wanted to bring his Bentley too. To "kill two birds with one stone" he decided to fit a tow bar to the Bentley to make his way down to the circuit in France.

see the video at https://www.facebook.com/groups/834204169970608/permalink/1606626072728410/

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/classic-cars/a12254699/bentley-blower-tows-porsche-962/