Bentley Continental GT 6.0

First of all, let me apologise for my inability to update as well as to do new write ups for some time due to my hectic schedule which includes getting myself into several new and interesting ventures including a new business venture. Without wasting time, today I will be reviewing a rather newer car which happens to be a Bentley Continental GT 6.0 (can’t run too much from the British element).

This will be the third Bentley on this site with previous write ups such as the sedan version of the GT, which is the Bentley Continental Flying Spur as well as a slight older one which also happens to be one of my favourites, the Bentley Turbo R. The Continental GT is a car which was first produced in 2003. It just seems like this model came out a few years back due to its rarity and design but in fact it has been around for more than a decade and is still in production. Being the first model to be produced since the acquisition of Bentley by German carmaker Volkswagen, this car was powered by the newly designed 6.0 litre W12 twin turbo engine which was later shared with the sedan Flying Spur models.

1926 Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer

December is certainly a month many of us look forward to. One is because it’s the holiday season and the other is naturally because it’s Christmas and I celebrate Christmas. And here at Your Dream Auto, we are also going to be giving you interesting articles of very rare and interesting cars for you to look forward to, so sit back and keep coming back to follow our updates. And here it is, for our first post for the month of December, an ultra rare 1926 Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer of which we have a fine example right here in Malaysia.

At one glance, the Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer will look like a typical automobile from it’s era but once you get closer to it you will realise that a Rolls-Royce will always be a Rolls-Royce (enthusiasts will know what I mean). And also do bear in mind that this particular car was built before Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley (check out our earlier write-up on ‘The difference between a classic Rolls-Royce and a classic Bentley’) so which means that they were not sharing DNAs yet.

This particular Rolls-Royce was one of only three lightweight tourers ever built by the Connaught Coachbuilders. As with most vintage cars during this time, only the chassis was built by the manufacturer in this case Rolls-Royce and the body was made and fitted by coachbuilders. The engine was a 3.1 litre (3,127 cc to be exact), Rolls-Royce inline 6 cylinder mated with a four-speed gearbox. Just in case you were wondering what the ‘Twenty’ means in the name of the car, it’s simply means it’s a 20horsepower engine and depending on the weight and size of the body put on it’s chassis, some cars were said to be able to go up to almost 100 km/h. But what makes this particular Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer more interesting is the fact that the current owner has got most of it’s history intact which even includes when the car was shipped to Malaysia.

To give a brief history, this particular car was shipped to West Malaysia (then known as Malaya) in June 1926. It was then used in a rubber estate in one of the states and even survived World War II. The current owner then acquired this piece of history back in 1981 and did a full restoration which was completed in 1983. Since then the owner has decided to keep the car around Malaysia and Singapore to preserve it’s history and this Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer is currently believed to be the oldest surviving Rolls-Royce in good condition  in this part of the world. So do enjoy the shots I took below though I must admit that the car looks way better in real life rather than in the photos.

Asia Klasika Motor Festival 2014

The months of October and November are certainly not to be missed when it comes to those who love and appreciate automobiles in Malaysia. These two months are when a number of notable automobile shows are held including the one we are talking about today, the Asia Klasika Motor Festival or also simply known as Asia Klasika 2014 that happened over the last weekend. A little bit away from tradition, the previous shows were held together with the NST Car of the Year event but this time the organisers decided to move on their own and it certainly was not a letdown.

1926 Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer

Historic Motoring Ventures being the organisers, held the event at the beautiful and scenic Pullman Putrajaya Lakeside Hotel. With the number of cars in attendance it was no surprise why they needed a big space as there were easily a hundred over cars and motorcycles on display as well as some for sale at their ‘The Pullman Sale’ section. What an impressive array of cars they had which included a good blend of British, German, Italian, Japanese and many other makes from various countries.

I’ve included a few photos below. As you may realise I did not take photos of many cars as I only took those cars that naturally attracted me. I will caption the photos for easy identification but I must say the two favourites of mine have to be the 1926 Rolls-Royce Twenty Tourer as well as the Mercedes-Benz 500K Roadster which I have previously featured. Haha.. I definitely can’t run too far from my obsession with the British and German Automobiles.

Jaguar XK140

Alfa Romeo GTV 1750

MGA

MGB

Bentley R-Type

Chevrolet Impala

Porsche 911 Turbo

Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTC

 

Alfa Romeo Montreal

Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R

Maserati Ghibli

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

Bentley Turbo R

The Bentley Turbo R… hhmmmm… It sure does sound fast with the word ‘Turbo’ in it and you know what, it actually is. Just by looking at the engine compartment picture above with the word ‘Turbo’ on the air intake will give all you speed junkies the shivers. The Bentley Turbo models were the fastest, high-performance models that were built by Bentley. During its 12 year production period from 1985 – 1997, there were only less than 8,000 units built worldwide and this certainly makes this a rare one for those who appreciate Bentleys of that time.

There were some minor updates done on the 90s models which included adding air-bags. Having sat in an 80s model (wished I had driven it but unfortunately the car was being repaired), I must say it’s got one of the most gorgeous interiors a car can ever have especially at the driver’s position. It’s just got that ‘you are in control feeling’ once you are at the driver seat and though at one look it may look like your everyday Bentley of the same era but the front lights, the grille as well as the badge at the rear boot which says ‘Turbo R’ certainly differentiates it from the rest.

Some time back I watched an episode of JayLenosGarage (attached below) and not surprising, he had the Bentley Turbo R in his collection. And so, there’s an episode where he actually reviews the car and my oh my I must say, it’s one big Bentley with one big heart in it. Even at this moment as I’m sitting and writing this article I feel like just driving one. Imagine the torque and power from that 6.75 litre V8 turbo-charged engine... sigh.. I’m sure all those of you speed lovers will understand what I mean.