Go back over 100 years and you will find Alfred Dunhill's origins lying in the pioneering provision of all goods for that faddish new occupation that was motoring. Alfred called his inventive range Dunhill's Motorities. Fast forward to today and the company celebrated the Motorities Collection 2005 with an evening of high-octane passion in Jermyn St last week, and next Friday will be dropping the starting flag on The Alfred Dunhill Motorities Tour from London to the Paris Ritz.

Celebrities from stage and screen mixed with the great and the good from the world of fashion, while bikers from the Ace Café and 59 Club staged a ride-past - with added visual effects. Dunhill CEO Simon Critchell was on hand to oversee a part of Dunhill’s history brought right up to date by the company’s new collection of casual, functional bags, the fruits of a partnership between the brand's abundant archive and the distinctive talents of top leather goods designer, Bill Amberg.

The company makes ten versions of Motorities luggage, from dispatch bag to transporter, garment carrier to wash bag, all made from reinforced lightweight canvas with leather, and feature a high visibility storm cover that protects your bag and its contents from the worst British weather.



The motoring event is starting in Jermyn St on Friday the 3rd and will take in the Boulogne Old Grand Prix Circuit in its travels through Northern France. The second day will take drivers from Northern France to Paris, where the cars will pull up outside the Ritz in the Place Vendôme, allowing participants to enjoy a refreshing cup of tea nearby at Alfred Dunhill’s 81-year-old store at 15 Rue de la Paix. Then, after a refreshing nap at the Ritz, it will be into Black Tie and back behind the wheel for the two-minute drive to the British Ambassador’s residence, where the cars will go on display in the courtyard and the drivers will enjoy drinks and a farewell dinner with the British Ambassador and his wife Sir John and Lady Holmes.



"The Alfred Dunhill Motorities Tour is a celebration of the brand’s unique links to the world of motoring, which can be traced back to the very dawn of the motor car," commented Simon Critchell. "Alfred Dunhill coined the term Motorities to describe the incredibly varied range of motoring accessories that he made. Today the firm continues to make must-have items for the discerning modern motorist. As well as being an enjoyable weekend, the Alfred Dunhill Motorities Tour will provide the perfect opportunity to ‘road test’ many new Motorities products, which will be going into our stores later this year."

Text - Classic Driver
All photographs by Tim Scott of Fluid Images and are Strictly Copyright
For more details contact Tim on +44 (0)7702 114551 or email [email protected].

Tim has recently invested in state-of-the-art printing facilities, and, in addition to commissions from private collectors and the trade, can provide enlargements up to 1 x 1.5 metres. Images can even be printed onto high-quality canvas and then stretched over a wooden frame, thereby creating a worthy addition to the walls of any discerning collector's motor house or study! For more details on the canvas-printing visit Tim's dedicated website