ClassicInside - The Classic Driver Newsletter

Editorial

The convertible Ford GT looks so good it’s amazing the company is not offering it as an extra model in the official line-up. To be fair, the Blue Oval has given the project its blessing, and the car’s construction has been supervised by a full-time Ford engineer, and what’s so positive about the whole thing is that the company is actively supporting modifiers and accessory makers to produce the very best products to customise the standard cars.

Some of the ‘improvements’ may not be to the average Classic Driver’s taste, however it’s a sign of the recognition one important member of the worldwide motor car manufacturing industry gives to this side of the business. And the result is a more ‘integrated’ look to modified cars that better preserves the core values of the brand.

The Blue Train Bentley story of 1930 is a well-known one, and is repeated in simple terms below to accompany the piece on the Crewe company’s special edition Arnage. What was news to me was that the original car was not the streamlined 2-door coupé Speed Six model, but a 4-door saloon. Hats off to the current owner of the celebrated coupé, discovering his car was not in fact the bet-winner, he now also owns the actual car to boot.

That’s style, and very much in the spirit of Woolf Barnato and the other ‘Bentley Boys’ of the ‘20s and ‘30s.

Steve Wakefield
Managing Editor
sw@classicdriver.com

*THIS WEEK IN CLASSIC DRIVER*
	The Ford GTX1 Roadster Open version of the GT available as a conversion Designed by Ford SVT engineer Kip Ewing, the GTX1 has been launched at America's top tuning and accessory show SEMA. Harking back to the various open racing Ford GTs of the '60s, you too can own one - for the price of a new Ford GT and the cost of a new removable top... read more...
	The MPH05 Show - where the cars are the stars Jeremy Clarkson’s live show the most dramatic yet Now established as a regular pre-Christmas event, the mixture of live stage show, luxury shopping and supercars classic and modern that is the MPH Show expands to an additional venue this year... read more...
	Coys at Auto D‘Epoca, Padova, Italy - 19th November 2005 - Preview Coys have assembled nearly 60 cars for their auction that is part of the Auto D‘Epoca exhibition in Italy later this month. As befits the location, most cars are LHD and a good few are of Italian origin with a definite performance angle... read more...
	Shanghai finish for Ferrari tour of China Ferrari's 15,000 Red Miles Tour, an adventure that saw two Scagliettis travelling over China, came to its conclusion last week in Shanghai. The finishing point was the 468 metre high Oriental Pearl Tower, lit up in red in celebration... read more...
	Charity auction to aid young victims of Gulf Coast hurricanes NBC’s "The Tonight Show" host, and well-known motoring enthusiast, Jay Leno will be presiding over the auction of the car in which he helped set several speed records this year - the one-of-a-kind Porsche Carrera GT... read more...
	Special Edition: Bentley Arnage Blue Train Bentley are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the famous "Blue Train" event where Woolf Barnato raced, and beat, the then fastest method of travelling from the South of France to Calais and London... read more...
	218 bhp MINI GP Two-Seater Four years on from its launch, MINI has launched the fastest Cooper S yet - the John Cooper Works (JCW) GP model with a lightened chassis and an engine producing 136 bhp/litre. Available only as a two-seater, just 2,000 examples will be available worldwide, around 400 staying in the UK... read more...

*CLASSIC LIFE*
	The 19 Star-Designer Hotel Hotel Puerta América in Madrid Now there’s an extra question to answer at the check-in desk. In addition to "Smoking or non-smoking?", visitors to the Hotel Puerta América in Madrid will be asked for their preferred designer, such as Norman Foster or Zaha Hadid... read more ...