A call out of the blue an hour before a planned drive from the office to Wiltshire for an overnight stay gave me a dilemma. "Your car is ready for collection. Would you like to pick it up?" The Bentley had been in the workshop to get to the bottom of the grumbling fuel pump, while the drive shaft boots were also replaced, air conditioning re-gassed and the car was given a fresh MOT. Yes, I've owned it for a year. Would I pick it up and leave it unattended at the office for up to two days or would I take it on a near 400-mile round trip to Warminster? The question was, of course, redundant as I pulled in to refuel. The Bentley was, of course, the perfect car for the long motorway journey, and with air conditioning icy cold again to keep out the 30ºC heat we set off on the four-hour opening leg.
The only potential blight on the journey would be traffic, and sure enough it materialised on the M25 a few miles before the M3. A detour via the A30 kept us moving at least and the Turbo R felt at home wafting through the Surrey countryside. Back in my hands after its spell in 'Bentley hospital' it felt better than at any time during the previous 12 months and although the fuel pump could still be heard, the grumbling noise was more subdued. It certainly hasn't done anything to the Turbo R's potent power delivery which always seems to take other road users by surprise. The Bentley's bluff front end must cut an imposing shape in the rear-view mirror. It's always treated deferentially and given plenty of space when approaching fast. The following day I had to go to Longleat - no, I'd never risk driving the Bentley through the safari park - but on leaving led to capturing a fitting snapshot image of the car with the stately home, seat of the Marquess of Bath, in the background. Another hot day on the road passed without incident and brought up 5,000 miles since I first took delivery - twice as many miles as I covered in my Jensen SP in five years of ownership. The Turbo R is turning into too much of appealing car to be restricted to special occasions.
2 Comments
11/15/2022 10:40:34 am
Group friend kitchen level agent every modern. College arm name act. Kid door hard clear million.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
August 2018
Categories
All
|