Bentley Continental Flying Spur

Bentleys and Rolls-Royce have always had very impressive names when it came to naming their models. Much earlier, I had a short write-up on ‘The difference between a classic Rolls-Royce and a classic Bentley’. Rolls-Royce had models such as the Phantom, Ghost, Silver Spirit, Silver Shadow and so on. Bentley on the other hand had a slightly different way of naming their cars but they were not less impressive than their Rolls-Royce counterparts which included 6 ½ liter Speed Six, Mulsanne, Turbo R (click the link for the write-up) and so on. Today I have the first model of the current lineup of the Bentley Continental Flying Spur.

The Flying Spur as it is commonly known was only the second model to be introduced since the Volkswagen Group took over in 1999. It was only second to the 2-door Continental GT. The Flying Spur was meant to be a Sports Saloon as it boasted a big 6.0 litre displacement with twin-turbo which was similar to that in the Continental GT. This was a very unique engine as it had the W12 (yes I said W12 correctly) configuration instead of the usual 6.75 litre V8s in the older Bentleys and it also supposed to be rated at more than 500hp.

As Bentleys are known as cars to be driven by the owners themselves, they always boasted of power. Some time back I had the opportunity to get up close with a Flying Spur. This was the first model but it was definitely an impressive vehicle. Sitting in the driver’s seat certainly got me excited as even though it was a huge car (it is 5.3 metres long), you know there’s helluva lot of power in it for the equally huge engine. It even has big 19" rims as standard. The interior was excellent and so was the leg space for the rear passengers. The dashboard still has the classic feel to it with the design of its gauges. Sigh.. I’d love to own one someday. I’ve included some photos below of this very car as well as video of a similar car for you to get a closer look at it.

And the video

JZ group meet up

As usual off and on we do write-ups away from our usual continental related ones. I did do a write-up some time ago on a Toyota Supra MkIV and just last week there was a gathering of Supras. The group was known as the JZ group so basically anyone with a JZ engine inside regardless of the car was invited. I was there courtesy of two of my friends who happen to own Supras. There was a good 25-30 cars at the end of the day which included of course Supras, Soarers, Chasers, Aristos and so on which had hearts of the 1JZ and the 2JZ.

 The one that caught my eye. Simple mods yet gorgeous.

The meet up was at a Nasi Kandar shop in Glenmarie, Selangor. For our foreign readers, Nasi Kandar is a local Malaysian delicacy which you should try sometime. It was a good gathering of people with ideas being shared as well as views and not forgetting the sight of those cars. Naturally, there were some who were well kept by the owners and some were just there, their heart being the reason.

Well, here are some shots of the gathering for your enjoyment. The pictures are a little dark as they were taken at night and of course we only had amateur cameras with us.. hehehe…

Updated Section - Cars for rent (Classic)

We are proud to have added another Jaguar to our already impressive fleet of Jaguars. We now have a beautiful modern classic Jaguar XJ40 Sovereign. Do check out our ‘Cars for rent – Classic’ page and Contact Us for a quote. Packages are also available. So, if you are looking for a classic especially a Jaguar to grace your special occasion, always think of Your Dream Auto.

Jaguar XJS

Well, it's my 50th post today and I'll be talking about my favourite make of all time, Jaguar. Jaguar always came out with great coupes right from the XK120s, the E-type, the XJS and up to the latest XKs. Today we will concentrate on the Jaguar XJS. The Jaguar XJS was a two-door car that Jaguar came up with in the 70s. It was to be what they call a luxury grand tourer and production ran for more than 20 years from 1975-1996 which is unusually long. During the production period more than 100,000 units were built which consisted of various body designs such as coupes, convertibles (above) and the rare targa-top. It was to be the successor to the ever-famous Jaguar E-type or known as XKE in the US.

The targa-top model

The coupe

The earlier XJS models had two engine variants which were the 3.6 litre inline 6 and the 5.3 litre V12. The 3.6 litre engines in these models were the AJ6 design and not the older XK design. The AJ6 was also later to be the heart of the Jaguar XJ40 models which I previously had a write-up on.

The XJS had appeared in the television series ‘Return of the Saint’ which was the sequel of ‘The Saint’ which featured the Volvo P1800. Finding an XJS in Malaysia is quite rare as too all other classic Jaguar models and prices are not too high as well. A good well kept one would cost at least RM70,000 – RM80,000. I too have one for sale. Go check out my ‘Cars for sale’ page, this is a V12 convertible. That’s all from me for today, I leave you with a video below of a rare Jaguar XJS 3.6 manual.

Restoration - Mercedes-Benz W108 280S (part 2)

It’s been a very long and eventful few months getting my Mercedes-Benz W108 280S completed. Previously I had done part 1 of the write-up ‘Restoration – Mercedes-Benz W108 280S (part 1)’ and so here’s the continuation. With all the wait getting the engine done, getting the carburettors done as well as all the welding and getting some chroming done, the car was sent for a new coat of paint about 2 months back.

It wasn’t easy choosing a colour that matched the car. Of course I didn’t want to choose one that would be too dull and boring. I had also ruled out dark colours as I felt it gave the car too much of an ‘old school’ look which was one I was not looking for. I finally decided on a blue which was not exactly a blue from the original colour codes for the W108 but a blue which I thought would somewhat make it an attractive car and a definite head-turner. And so I went for this light blue and once painted, it was definitely a sight to behold and even my painter (who was initially sceptical about the colour I chose and repeatedly asked me to make sure I’m choosing that colour) was impressed by it.

And so, she’s now back at my place waiting to be on the road as I’m yet to install my carburettors which went through a sort of a refurbishing. They are the original Zenith carbs which came with the car and I intend to keep it with the car to maintain originality. There are a few more bits and pieces to be done and so, I will update you guys at the next part of this write-up. Until then, below are some of the shots taken during the process.

My Series III and my Merc