Number One London - More Power, More Torque !

OK, Apsley House hasn't gone all Top Gear but on a walk around Central London today I did spot this.

LDN 1

This must be the ultimate number-plate for a London nerd, such as myself.

It is all a little bit wasted on me, I don't drive, never have, I don't understand the personalised number plates idea and if I ever had a spare £66,445 (plus the cost of the plates) I would probably spend it on wine and books instead, but ...

As a London nerd I really liked it! As a confirmed pedestrian, objector to Chelsea tractors and as a total vehicle ignoramus it still worked for me.

My only question is, is this the best vehicle to bear that set of plates? Are they wasted here on a Range Rover? Shouldn't they instead, be upon a Bentley, a Rolls or even a Ka?

Assuming that one of us wins £105 million tonight on the Lottery, and we want the ultimate number plate for a self-respecting London nerd's chauffeur to drive us around in, to what vehicle should they be attached?

Suggestions please.

Regent Remoulds and BP Energol Keep Me on the Road!

I saw these two lovely old adverts in the entrance to the Soho Car Park today.

Isn't it funny how old adverts can be so pleasurable, whilst contemporary adverts can be so annoying. It must be age, I am sure my children will one day take similar delight in an unscraped Adidas ad from "Back in the day".

Icon Born in a London Stable

This plaque commemorates the fact that the first  Bentley car was built  here in a garage converted from a mews stable at Number 48 Chagford Street, Marylebone, London. 

It is a private plaque, businesses are not generally recognised under the "official" English Heritage scheme .

Bentley has become a byword for luxury, “extraordinary speed, exquisitely handcrafted and beautifully engineered” cars, but these are unlikely surroundings.

Before World War I W.O. Bentley was a successful competitive motorcyclist. During the war he made aircraft engines for the newly formed RAF. In 1919, with the war over ”W.O.” turned his attention to the dream of building a car that would satisfy his own “extraordinarily high expectations as a driver, as an engineer, as a competitor and as a gentleman”. He wanted  “A fast car, a good car, the best in its class.”

In October 1919 at his service shop in Chagford Street, he fired up the very first Bentley engine, the enormous, by the standards of the day, Bentley  3-litre.

He now just needed to build a car around it. In those days car makers just produced the chassis and engine, it was up to the customer to employ a coach maker to finish the vehicle. Rich purchasers also bought the very best coachwork.

A reviewer wrote “For the man who wants a true sporting type of light-bodied car for use on a Continental tour, the three-litre Bentley is undoubtedly the car par excellence.”.

After five Le Mans victories, the car became an icon of the motor industry and it all started here in Chagford Street.