‘GRAND TOURING GREATS’ TO STAR IN THE EARLS COURT MOTOR SHOW AT THE GOODWOOD REVIVAL

Following the growing popularity of the annual Earls Court Motor Show at the Goodwood Revival, this key attraction will once again add an exciting element to the annual Revival meeting, the world’s most authentic historic motor race meeting, being held in just four week’s time, from 17-19 September.

The Earls Court Motor Show takes its inspiration from the celebrated London Motor Shows of the 1950s and 60s, with an Art Deco frontage reminiscent of the glory days of exhibitions of the past. This spacious area will give the expected 130,000 Goodwood Revival visitors an insight into how the motoring of tomorrow might look from a pre-1966 perspective, with a display of ‘futuristic’ late 20th and early 21st century cars.

Externally, Earls Court looks like the entrance to a 1950s Motor Show, promising to display ‘cars of the future’ inside. As no post-1966 vehicles are ordinarily allowed on site during the Goodwood Revival, the Earls Court Motor Show enables the event to break out of its ‘period’ timeframe and display post-1966 vehicles. The effect is like walking into a Tardis, offering other-worldly futuristic new cars to see, right up to and including manufacturers’ latest products.

Each vehicle manufacturer’s stand is presented in the style of a traditional Motor Show of the 1950s or 1960s. As with the rest of the Revival, the overall display is not set in a specific timeframe, but rather at some unidentified point prior to 1966. Manufacturer displays are therefore expected to include contemporary cars of the 1950s or 1960s, as well as some ‘concept’ cars showing each company’s vision of what production cars might look like in the early 21st Century. Car manufacturers confirmed to be exhibiting at this ‘motor show of the future’ include Maserati, Jaguar, BMW, Nissan and Rolls-Royce.

In addition to the manufacturers’ stands, there will be a central ‘concours d’elegance’ exhibition. This display will commemorate ‘Grand Touring Greats’, featuring around 25 elegant GT cars, from the 1950s right through to the present day. Expect to see important GT cars such as the influential Lancia Aurelia B20 Coupe, Bentley Continental R, Facel Vega HK500, Gordon Keeble and Ferrari 365 GTB/4 ‘Daytona.’

Goodwood’s historic links with Earls Court are very strong. The famous London Earls Court exhibition site was built on land once owned by the Duke of Richmond; the Earl in the name referring to the Earl of March, from whom the present 10th Duke of Richmond, and his son Lord March, are directly descended.

Source: Goodwood

BENTLEY DRIVERS CLUB AT SILVERSTONE

3 litre Bentleys in the parade as the rain begins (around 100 Bentleys took part). Image: Peter de Rousset-Hall
The Bentley Drivers Club 61st Annual Race Meeting at Silverstone on August 7th saw fantastic racing from a wonderfully diverse range of Bentleys and other marques. And, in the true spirit of the original Bentley Boys of the 1920s, the event saw a number of owners of modern Bentleys turning out with their contemporary machines tuned and presented for racing against their vintage counterparts.

“The mix of cars of all shapes, sizes and ages really took everyone back to the early days of motor racing,” said Sebastian Welch, Competitions Captain of the BDC, “and it was particularly heartening to see everything from a very early, brakeless, front-axled 3 litre Bentley up to the mighty 2005 GT, which was colourfully vinyl wrapped, just as owners have tuned and developed Bentleys for some 80 years. It’s a tradition that we in the Club are delighted to see continue.”

Key to this event is the informality of a true club meeting; grass-roots motorsport at its very best. “Although many of the cars are true museum pieces, they’re not kept in museums – we race them as they were always intended to be,” commented Clive Morley, who campaigned two vintage Bentleys at Silverstone, “and there’s a great atmosphere in the paddock. People can get really close to the cars – even sit in some of them.”

It’s also a superb family event. Spectators of all ages had plenty to entertain them, including the magnificent sight of 100 Bentleys old and new parading around a rather wet Silverstone, and exhibition laps by the Le Mans development car, EXP Speed 8. It was also a family event for the racers themselves, with husbands and wives competing against each other and, in the case of Clive Morley and his family, three generations out on the track.

The Bentley Drivers Club also continued the tradition of the race meetings of decades ago by inviting other marques to attend, which added to the excitement and spectacle. Two Morgan races were hugely entertaining, while other races featured Bugatti, D-type Jaguar, Lagonda, Allard, Frazer Nash, Aston Martin, Austin-Healey and MG, to name but a few.

Not surprisingly, this hugely popular meeting attracts overseas enthusiasts, not just to watch but also to compete. One competitor drove his 41/2 litre Bentley from Brussels, then campaigned it out on the track – again, very much in the spirit of those early racers.

“We were delighted with the event,” concluded Sebastian Welch. “We had full grids for a number of races, a strong turn-out of spectators, close-fought, exhilarating racing and that inimitable, relaxed and welcoming atmosphere that makes our annual Silverstone meeting so special.”

Source: Bentley Drivers Club

RARE GLIMPSE INSIDE BENTLEY AND ROLLS-ROYCE TREASURE TROVE

One of the motor industry’s hidden treasure troves will be opened for the first time in September when Bentley Motors holds a one-off parts and accessories sales fair.

The famous Crewe-based manufacturer will be offering professional traders and owners of both Bentley and Crewe-built Rolls-Royce cars, as well as enthusiasts of these iconic British marques, the opportunity to purchase anything from a V8 engine block or replacement gearbox right through to an indicator bulb or pristine, beautifully illustrated 1950s handbook.


Bentley Motors holds over 55,000 part lines for all Bentley models (1955 onwards) as well as Rolls-Royce cars built in Crewe (1955-2002) at its state-of-the-art 143,000 square foot warehouse on the outskirts of the Cheshire town. This equates to an astonishing 7 million items - all stored and catalogued on the company’s database.

The September sales fair will enable Bentley to create additional space for parts and accessories for upcoming cars like the Continental Supersports and the much anticipated all-new Bentley which is due to make its debut in California this August.

Over the weekend a range of Bentley’s factory trained experts will be on-site to provide visitors with advice on identifying and sourcing the correct parts for their car. All the items will be clearly catalogued and displayed by model type with a range of systems available to source the perfect part.

Unlike a typical ‘autojumble’, all the parts available will be original and unused, backed with a manufacturer warranty and many provided in branded packaging. Bentley’s official logistics partner will also attend the weekend to support any customers needing parts to be shipped.

Anyone wishing to attend this unique Bentley parts and accessories can register their interest by contacting the team at heritage.event@bentley.co.uk by 21 August 2009.

Press release & images from:Bentley Motors

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