CITY OF LE MANS RENAMES STREET ‘RUE DES BENTLEY BOYS’ AS BENTLEY CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE AT 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

CITY OF LE MANS RENAMES STREET ‘RUE DES BENTLEY BOYS’ AS BENTLEY CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE AT 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

The illustrious racing heritage of Bentley Motors is being honoured at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans – the world’s greatest motorsport event. Today, to mark the company’s Centenary and the brand’s close association with the race, the City of Le Mans renamed a street in honour of the indomitable ‘Bentley Boys’ who won five Le Mans 24-hour races between 1924 and 1930, and their successors who took the laurels in 2003.

On Saturday, 25 Bentley motor cars from across the marque’s last century will drive the Parade Lap at the beginning of this year’s race. They will be led by the all-new Flying Spur in its Global Dynamic debut, and the 2003 Le Mans race-winning EXP Speed 8.

A trackside display entitled ‘Bentley Through The Decades’ will also be a major highlight of the 87th running of the endurance race this weekend in France. Among the legendary Bentley models will be previous Le Mans race entries, including Bentley Motor’s Birkin Team Car; the legendary 1927 3-Litre No 2 Team Car from the 1930 race and the 1926 3-Litre Team Car No 8. EXP 2, the oldest surviving Bentley, will also be on display. Although it never raced at Le Mans, it is the most successful racing Bentley ever with 11 first and 7-second places to its name.

A new display on Bentley’s racing heritage will also open in the trackside 24 Hours of Le Mans Museum. Honouring Bentley’s six famous victories at the event the display will showcase a replica Speed 8 and Speed 6 and will run until September 2019.

Bentley Boys Honoured In Le Mans

Today, Bentley has been honoured by the City of Le Mans, which has renamed one of its major streets in memory of the company’s illustrious racing heritage. Rue de Laigne becomes ‘Rue des Bentley Boys’ paying homage to the group of wealthy young men who raced W.O. Bentley’s fast and dependable cars in the early 20th Century, and their 21st Century successors.

During the 1920s, Bentley enjoyed great success on the racetrack and also broke many speed records. It brought W.O.s new company front page recognition, none more so than the company’s first Le Mans victory in 1924.

W.O. worked with ‘Bentley Boy’ John Duff to prepare for the 1924 endurance race, travelling to France to watch his car take the company’s first chequered flag at Le Mans. The dashing Bentley Boys went on to win four more consecutive races from 1927 to 1930, dominating the Golden Era of Le Mans racing and delivering one of the sport’s greatest achievements.

After an absence of 73 years, Bentley returned to contest Le Mans in 2001 and won the race in 2003. 

The Mayor of Le Mans, M.Stéphane Le Foll, led the re-naming ceremony and was joined by representatives of Auto Club de l’Ouest President M.Pierre Fillon, Bentley’s Director of Motorsport, Brian Gush, Bentley’s Head of Heritage Collection, Robin Peel and several current day ‘Bentley Boys’.

Global Dynamic Debut of All-New Flying Spur

Le Mans will host the global dynamic debut of the all-new Flying Spur on Saturday 15 June, as it demonstrates its sporting capabilities as Pace Car in the pre-race Parade Lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driven by Chris Craft, Bentley's Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, it will lead more than 20 historic and current Bentley models from the company’s first 100 years around the historic racetrack in front of hundreds of thousands of motor racing fans from around the globe.

The all-new, All-Wheel Drive Flying Spur is an extraordinary Grand Tourer with unparalleled agility. Designed, engineered and handcrafted in Britain, the sports sedan sets new standards for both driving enjoyment and luxury.

It is the very first Bentley to feature All-Wheel Steering, enhancing both stability at cruising speeds and agility around town. The new, all-wheel drive Flying Spur is a ground-up development that sets a new benchmark for technology and craftsmanship in the luxury sector.

Two Special Le Mans Displays

Located on the track’s famous Dunlop Curve, a ‘Bentley Through The Decades’ static display on Friday (June 14) will feature a host of special Bentley models from the last 100 years. In addition to the EXP 2 and the 1927 Team Car, the display includes the Team Blower, an R-Type Continental, a Series 1 FS Continental and the EXP Speed 8 that won at Le Mans in 2003.

Before the start of the 87th 24 Hours of Le Mans, the prestigious Parade Lap on Saturday (June 15) will also be dominated by Bentley cars. Other models to join the all-new Flying Spur on the track circuit will include the EXP 2, the 1925 3 Litre ‘Speed’, the 4 ½ Blower, the 3 Litre Team Car, a Brooklands and a Continental GT3-R.

100 Years Of Extraordinary

From Le Mans victories, through to the incredibly powerful road cars of the modern era, all of Bentley’s extraordinary cars have innovation hand-built into them. July 10, 2019 marks Bentley’s 100th year - an extraordinary milestone achieved by only a few companies.

The Le Mans celebrations are just part of a year-long series of special activities, with celebrations at other events around the world. They will showcase Bentley’s motoring evolution over the last 100 years, highlighting its global success today and the exciting future of innovation ahead.

A NEW AUTOMOTIVE ICON TO DEBUT AT LE MANS – FIRST DB4 GT ZAGATO CONTINUATION SET FOR UNVEIL AT CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE

A NEW AUTOMOTIVE ICON TO DEBUT AT LE MANS – FIRST DB4 GT ZAGATO CONTINUATION SET FOR UNVEIL AT CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE

The first Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato Continuation – part of the Aston Martin DBZ Centenary Collection – to make its public debut at the world’s most famous endurance motorsport event later this week.

Breaking cover at Aston Martin’s VIP hospitality facility alongside the famous French circuit, the first complete DB4 GT Zagato Continuation – one of just 19 cars being made – will be on show throughout the gruelling 24-hour race.

The production model of this track-only sports car, the latest in Aston Martin’s hugely successful Continuation programme which began with the DB4 GT Continuation series in 2017, represents the culmination of around 4,500 hours of painstaking and meticulous artisan craftsmanship.

As with all the Continuation cars, the Zagato has been created at Aston Martin’s globally renowned Heritage Division headquarters in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire. Now the largest, best equipped and most knowledgeable Aston Martin restoration centre in the world, the invaluable and highly specialist skills nurtured at Aston Martin Works are perfectly suited to the brand’s celebrated Continuation projects.

The car on show in France this weekend represents the pinnacle of Aston Martin’s Continuation projects to date, and proudly continues the brand’s 50-plus year association with world-renowned Italian coachbuilder and design house, Zagato.

Finished in Rosso Maja red paint, the car’s exterior colour has been matched to original masters created by Max Meyer & ICI, the paint suppliers for the original cars. Inside, the car is trimmed in Obsidian Black leather, which covers the pads in the carbon fibre race seats; door cards, headliner and rear environment. Black Wilton carpets bound in Obsidian Black leather trim cover the floor, stitched in matching Obsidian Black thread.

The new model boasts a larger capacity 4.7-litre version of the straight-six cylinder petrol engine found in the DB4 GT Continuation and, in this guise, is producing in excess of 390 bhp. This is transmitted to the rear wheels through a four-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential.

Continuation specification instrumentation and interior equipment such as a full FIA-approved roll cage is standard, as are the Borrani silver painted wheels and polished lips.

Originally built to race against the might of Ferrari in the 1960s, the DB4 GT Zagato was a thoroughbred machine. Evolved for the rigours of motor racing and blessed with a rare and incontestable beauty, just 19 were made. Drawing on the unrivalled knowledge and expertise of the team at Aston Martin Works the 2019 DB4 GT Zagato Continuations are meticulously crafted, staying true to those original Zagato-bodied DB4 GTs produced by Aston Martin and Zagato in the 1960s.

Each car is being constructed to the highest possible quality using a blend of Sir David Brown-era old-world craftsmanship and the sympathetic application of modern engineering advancements and performance enhancements.

A digital body buck has, for instance, been created to allow Aston Martin engineers to examine minute details of the Continuation cars. In contrast, hand-finished body panels of the new cars are each worked from flat sheets of 1.2 mm thick aluminium and representing hundreds of hours of world-class craftsmanship, are created using techniques that were commonplace almost 60 years ago. 

Originally built as an evolution of the short-chassis DB4 GT, the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation follows the same recipe, with those thin-gauge aluminium body panels dressing a lightweight tubular frame in a chassis optimised for track work.

This latest continuation car follows the success of the 25 Aston Martin DB4 GT Continuation models that sold to enthusiast collectors in 2017 and precedes what will perhaps be the most ambitious continuation to date: the Aston Martin Goldfinger DB5 Continuation cars that will come to market in 2020. 

Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President & Group CEO, said: “The development and successful creation of this latest Continuation car is an achievement that should not be underestimated. Indeed, it could well be argued that we are making history with these new cars.

“Celebrating our brand’s deep and enduring partnership with Zagato in this, their landmark year, by launching the DBZ Centenary Collection has been a mammoth undertaking and I’m personally extremely proud of the results in the shape of this new DB4 GT Zagato.”

Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works, said: “Like Andy, I’m incredibly proud of what the team have achieved in making the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation a reality.

“After the unprecedented success of the DB4 GT Continuation cars, we are once again bringing to life the stuff of Aston Martin folklore.”

The DBZ Century Collection will be priced at £6m plus taxes. First deliveries to customers will commence in QTR 3 2019 for the DB4 GT Zagato Continuation and in QTR 4 2020 for the DBS GT Zagato.

NEW BOOK TAKES A LOOK AT THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE SMALL CAR

NEW BOOK TAKES A LOOK AT THE WORLD’S FAVOURITE SMALL CAR

Mini Scrapbook 60 years of a British icon

By Martin Port

Published by Porter Press International

Publication date: 17 June 2019

Softback ● RRP: £20.00

ISBN: 978-1-907085-94-9 ● 176 pages

Format 240mm x 300mm ● Over 400 photos

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Mini – a little car which made a big impact when it was launched in 1959. With its unique combination of aesthetics, space efficiency, engineering approach, and handling, the Mini was the brainchild of genius designer Alec Issigonis, and proved to be an instant hit – not just with the general buying public, but also with celebrities like The Beatles, Twiggy and Peter Sellers, and racers like Sir Stirling Moss. It became a much-loved staple of the British car industry – a position that it has arguably maintained for 60 years and continues to enjoy today.

In this latest addition to the Scrapbook series from Porter Press, the story of this unique little car is broken up into accessible nuggets and supported by an extensive array of archive and contemporary photographs, to illustrate just what makes the Mini so special, so loved and such fun!

Story highlights

• Setting the scene – Discovering why this charismatic little car is so loved around the world.

• From concept to reality – Revealing how Alec Issigonis and his team turned their thoughts from rough sketches to prototypes to production cars.

• The life of the Mini – Introducing each incarnation of the classic Mini, from 1959 to 2000.

• The Mini in competition – Exploring the car’s place in motorsport and the famous racers who got behind the wheel.

• Popular culture – From celebrity owners to appearances on the silver screen – including Brit cult classic movie The Italian Job.

• Tuning the Mini – Delves into a whole host of upgrades and add-ons that were available, including key tuning modifications as demonstrated by Downton, Cooper and Broadspeed.

• Mini variants – The Mini was the basis for many, many variations – from the Moke to the Midas, from the slightly strange to the downright absurd.

• BMW Mini – Brings us up to date, with a look at 21st-century incarnations, including the 60th-anniversary model – the latest in a long line of cars to wear the Mini name.

• Lots to look at – Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs, documents and memorabilia that document the car’s past, present and future.

• A very different sort of book – Dip in, dip out and discover all the fun of the Mini!

The author

Author Martin Port has worked in automotive publishing for 18 years – the last 16 of these for leading classic car title, Classic & Sports Car. Over the last 27 years, he has owned a variety of classics, from a Mini Metro to a Morris Minor, a Porsche 912 to a Series II Land-Rover, and, of course, the legendary Mini. The first of these was a 1968 Morris Mini MkII Super DeLuxe, driven from Cheshire to Berkshire with a hole in one of the valves. The second was a 1980 model rescued from a hedge in Richmond the day that it was due to be scrapped. Thanks to the Mini’s unique driving experience, which always puts a smile on his face, it will always have a corner of his motoring heart.

Also out now!

As well as being the 60th anniversary of the Mini, this year also marks the 50thanniversary of British cult classic film The Italian Job, in which of course the Mini plays a starring, scene-stealing role. Fans of the iconic little car can celebrate this milestone with another new title fresh from the Porter Press fold: The Self Preservation Society – 50 Years of The Italian Job. Written by the world authority on the film, Matthew Field, this new book takes a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at how the film made its way to our screens. It is based on more than 50 in-depth interviews with the cast and crew and lavishly illustrated with hundreds of never-before-seen photographs and production documents.