Driver's Notebook: Bespoke Bentley
08/03/2004
For four-odd decades, sedans from Rolls-Royce and Bentley were virtually interchangeable, distinguished from each other only by unique grilles and badges. The differences between the cars, even with limited-run custom bodies, were fairly incidental. This is why, on the surface, a scene from the 1964 picture Paris—When It Sizzles appears to be almost absurd. William Holden’s character—a screenwriter—envisions a scene in which a white Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud pulls up to a building; he quickly dismisses the Rolls-Royce as too ostentatious and mentally replays the scene, much to his satisfaction, with a white Bentley S-Type, differentiated from the Rolls-Royce only by the shape of its grille. Somehow along the way, a Rolls-Royce came to be seen as showy, a Bentley as understated. The rationale is, I believe, simple to explain. The typical Rolls-Royce owner could not fathom intentionally surrendering the prestige of a Flying Lady for what he perceived as a second-tier Winged B. The Bentley buyer engaged in the reverse snobbery of flouting that logic.; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
In the 1960s the Bentley’s low-key image went largely unappreciated, especially
in the United States, and this S3 Continental with Flying Spur coachwork was
built for the home market, with right-hand drive. Unlike the upright sedan
bodies usually fitted to the S3 chassis—all sweeping fenders, plunging
beltlines, and bustled trunks—the Flying Spur provided a more modern take on a
classic style. It was still out of step with 1960s thinking, which had gone to
low, wide, sleek design, but its less formal lines blended more comfortably with
the era’s stylistic sensibilities. Especially with the Bentley grille, the
Flying Spur was elegant without being grand, a quality rarely captured by any
automobile. (Click image to enlarge)
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The unostentatious luxury of the Hotel Bel-Air, tucked in a canyon north of
Sunset Boulevard, is an ideal complement to the Bentley Flying Spur. (Click image to enlarge)On a fine spring morning, I called on Heritage Classics to drive
this fully restored Bentley and found it waiting, resplendent, on the showroom
floor amid a cavalcade of stunning automobiles from the same era—an Aston
Martin, a few Ferraris, and several Mercedes-Benzes, among them. The staff fired the
Bentley up and maneuvered it onto Santa Monica Boulevard, where Heritage owner
Irving Willems handed the keys to me. I slid into the low-backed bucket seat,
covered in cranberry leather and positioned close to the floor, and noted the
fairly sporting driving position facing a traditional black steering wheel,
large and thin-rimmed. The cabin is cozy, able to seat four comfortably without
much room to spare, and while nicely trimmed with high-quality leathers and the
expected wood veneers, it is more functional than plush. The gear selector on
the steering column notched effortlessly into Drive, and I was ready to pull
away from the curb.
The posh suburbs of Los Angeles are the Bentley’s natural
habitat, and I decided to make a circuit of neighborhoods where such a car would
have traveled in the ’60s. I turned onto Doheny Drive, which marks the eastern
border of Beverly Hills, and headed to Sunset Boulevard. On the wide—and more
importantly, well-paved—road I opened the throttle up and appreciated both the
engine’s willing response and the almost throaty note of the exhaust.
Continentals had a more powerful engine than the standard S3, although Crewe
always declined to give horsepower and torque ratings for its 6.2-liter V-8,
instead stating that both were “adequate.” Although annoyingly vague for
enthusiasts, it nevertheless seems an apt description for power delivered by the
Bentley—just enough.
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The Bentley grille lends the Flying Spur’s
coachwork an added measure of
understated elegance. (Click
image to enlarge)
The over-assisted power steering and soft suspension
settings prevented truly aggressive driving, but the Bentley handled modern
traffic conditions without fuss. Its brakes were the only weak point, and the
old adage about leaving a certain number of car lengths between myself and the
car in front of me applied. The car’s performance parameters encouraged
dignified progress, but that was just fine. And the more time I spent with the
Flying Spur, the more natural its performance started to feel. While not an
overly large car to begin with, it seemed to shrink around me, and I was able to
sense its more athletic nature when compared to standard S3s.
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The dashboard might appear spartan to those of us used to the gadget-heavy
equivalents in luxury cars today. (Click image to enlarge)
At Stone Canyon
Road in Bel-Air, I turned north and wended my way along the narrow lane beneath
a canopy of mature trees until I reached the haciendalike Hotel Bel-Air, a
sprawling assemblage of Spanish Colonial structures sequestered in the dense
foliage of the canyon, and a nice complement to the Bentley’s understated
elegance. I then cut back to Beverly Hills through Holmby Hills—little known
outside of Los Angeles but arguably the toniest neighborhood in town—where Old
Hollywood glamour achieved its residential zenith on sprawling estates. The
Bentley was completely within its element, gliding along pretty tree-lined
streets dotted with large houses dating from the 1930s and ’40s.
All these
neighborhoods are beleaguered by slow-moving tour vans and rental cars, drivers
clutching maps, in search of movie stars’ houses. The general reaction to the
car was subdued—people noticed it, but did not appear compelled to take a closer
look. (By contrast, I drove a modified Ferrari 360 down Sunset Boulevard this
morning and literally saw jaws drop.) This seems to me to be the Bentley’s
primary draw—a beautiful car that provides a pleasurable driving experience
without attracting undue attention, exactly what the traditional Bentley owner
expects his car to be. ; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
By the time I made my way back to Heritage Classics’
West Hollywood showroom, I was thoroughly charmed. And even the $128,000 price,
on the high side, especially for a right-hand drive model, seemed reasonable in
light of its recent $150,000 restoration and the fact that 1965 was the last
full year in which customers could order bespoke coachwork for sedans from
Crewe. (Click image to enlarge)
Heritage Classics
310.657.9699
www.heritageclassics.com
1965 Bentley Flying Spur
Engine: 6.2-liter V-8
Transmission: 3-speed automatic
Wheelbase: 123
inches
Curb weight: 4,500 lbs (approximately)
Price: $128,000
(Note:
Bentley traditionally quoted horsepower and torque ratings as “adequate.”)