In what has been one of my best days ever, I was able to attend a meeting of the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club at the Bowling Ryan works in Kearsley, where I was able to enjoy a celebration of British craftsmanship and engineering. Although the event was primarily for the interest of owners possessing Rolls Royce Silver Spirit's and their derivatives as well as Bentley Turbo's and Brooklands, several other forms of Rolls Royce and Bentley made an appearance as well, as listed below:
- At the works was a 1969 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow with coachwork by Park Ward, one of only 90 built as a precursor to the Rolls Royce Corniche that was launched in 1971 and produced until 1995. These cars are often mistaken for being Corniche's, but subtle differences help give them away.
- Several Rolls Royce Silver Spirits and Silver Spurs, which were built between 1980 and 1999 as a replacement for the Silver Shadow. Although the production of these cars appeared from the outset to be largely uneventful, a lecture given by a former Rolls Royce worker with 40 years of experience was able to explain that there were at least twenty variations of the Silver Spirit and Silver Spur during its 19 year production life, with changes largely made to the wheelbase so as to appeal to the American Market which demanded larger and longer cars. They styling of the Silver Spirit/Spur is also illustrates the desire to look more 'American', resembling largely the Lincoln's and Cadillac's of the day.
But even though they have often been regarded as not the prettiest Rolls Royce's ever produced (although in terms of woeful styling the new Phantom and Ghost range takes the biscuit), they still proved popular, the Sultan of Brunei for example bought 1,200 of them, which either meant he liked them a lot, or he treated them so roughly that he had to keep replacing them.
- In the rear of the workshop was a modified Bentley Turbo which had been converted for use as a track day car for Le Mans and the Nurburgring, using the same Bentley V8 as the Arnage but the chassis of a Turbo R.
- Several Bentley Turbo's and Bentley Brooklands, both of which were constructed largely to the same principals as the Silver Spirit but with moderate changes, most predominantly with the front radiator grille and badging, but also with some of the styling and engine configurations.
- Also visiting were two Bentley Arnage models and a Bentley Azure. The Bentley Arnage was constructed between 1998 and 2009 as the replacement for the Brooklands, its design based on that of the Rolls Royce Silver Seraph. The Arnage design however outlasted the Seraph, and today two variations of the Arnage design were present, with a red Arnage of original styling being parked outside, whilst a post-2007 facelift model was displayed inside.
Additionally a Bentley Azure was on display, the Azure being based largely on the design of the original Bentley Continental R. Production of these cars lasted from 1995 to 2003, whereupon the original Continental R design was dropped and replaced with a design based on the Arnage from 2006 to 2009. The car present today was a 2006 version, being elevated on the lift for a view of the underside.
- A Rolls Royce Silver Shadow II from 1980 also made an appearance on the forecourt, a reminder of Rolls Royce's most produced car of which 25,000 were built, 8,200 of which were Mark II's.
But either way today was a magnificent example of motor enthusiasm at its peak, with these former playthings of celebrities and nouveau riche being restored faithfully to their original glory. No longer are these owned by movie stars, musicians and high ranking executives, but instead by avid enthusiasts who see them not as merely image enhancements or symbols of wealth and vanity, but instead as icons of British hand-crafted architecture and engineering might.
Enjoy!