Century of Bentleys hit the road: 70 luxury cars - spanning 100 years of iconic British brand - begin epic 1,260-mile trip from John O'Groats to Surrey's historic Brooklands racetrack
By Ray Massey, Mail Online, March 2019
- Value of the the 20 core historic and modern Bentleys taking part in whole trip is estimated around £8million
- Cars from the glory days of the racing 'Bentley Boys' in the 1920s and 1930s are taking part
- The 'Centenary Extraordinary Drive' from Scotland to Surrey is organised by the Bentley Drivers' Club
A cavalcade of historic and modern Bentleys has set off from John O’Groats on an epic 1,260 mile epic journey across Britain to celebrate the luxury car firm’s 100th anniversary.
More than 70 cars – from the glory days of the racing ‘Bentley Boys’ in the 1920s and '30s to the latest Bentayga 4X4 - are taking part for at least part of the fortnight-long ‘Centenary Extraordinary Drive’ from Scotland to Surrey organised by the Banbury-based Bentley Drivers’ Club.
And a hard-core of around 20 will do the entire trip - dubbed ‘the grandest of grand tours’ – driving via Bentley’s factory in Crewe and into central London to the finale at Brooklands circuit in Surrey on Sunday March 31.
A cavalcade of historic and modern Bentleys has set off from John O’Groats on an epic 1,260 mile
epic journey across Britain to celebrate the luxury car firm’s 100th anniversary
The value of the the 20 core historic and modern Bentley cars taking part for the whole trip is estimated around £8million - with one worth £2m on its own.
But when the value of all 70 cars which are expected to take part is totted up – including those dipping in for for at least one leg of the trip - that rises to around £20million.
The group of Bentley enthusiasts before they set off this morning. Among those expected to participate in various legs of the run are Autumn Phillips, daughter in law of the Princess Royal
Among the oldest cars committed for the full trip are a 1927 4.5-litre Van den Plas, a 1928 4.5-litre Le Mans Tourer, and a 1930 Speed 6.
Among those expected to participate in various legs of run are Autumn Phillips, daughter in law of the Princess Royal.
And I was in at the beginning driving a mighty 170mph 2003 Continental R which, when launched, was the fastest and most powerful Bentley of its day and the most expensive production car in the world.
A hard-core of around 20 will do the entire trip - dubbed ‘the grandest of grand tours’ – driving via Bentley’s factory in Crewe and into central London to the finale at Brooklands circuit in Surrey on Sunday March 31
Church of Scotland Minister and vintage Bentley owner, the Reverend Ian Murray gave a stirring blessing to the drivers and their cars before they headed off on their 1,260 mile epic adventure - which drew a hearty round of applause.
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