Yahoo Autos Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 Bentley Is For Sale on Bring a Trailer
Presenting Alfred Hitchcock's personal Bentley, which he drove during a golden age of his films.
With aluminum coachwork and a 4.9L V8, this defined the sport and luxury that the Bentley badge stands for today.
Rarely seen in left-hand-drive, this example is in excellent condition, and the famous past ownership just makes things more fun.
A flock of birds wheeling overhead. The sense that someone's walked into the bathroom while you're taking a shower. A crop dusting plane, wheeling around and heading your way. Each is just a single iconic example of director Alfred Hitchcock's mastery of suspense and horror. He scared the daylights out of us, but we loved him for it. Now, here's your chance to have a piece of Hitchcock history that's dramatic, but far from terrifying.
Dial B for Bentley, because Hitchcock's own Continental is for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos). Like his films, it's the kind to thing to make you gasp, though in admiration rather than fearful suspense.
Wearing sports sedan coachwork by H.J. Mulliner, the car was built to the director's specifications, with left-hand-drive, power steering, and upgraded air-conditioning for California summers. It was delivered to Los Angeles on August 27, 1958. At the time he had just released what many consider to be his greatest movie, Vertigo, to middling reviews. Driving such a gorgeous machine must have soothed his nerves, and by the next year he was back with the blockbuster success of North by Northwest, and the shock horror of Psycho.
At the time this car was built, Bentley was under Rolls-Royce ownership. The company produced the Continental as a chassis only, sending its 4.9-liter V-8–powered underpinnings to individual coachbuilders to complete the bodywork.
This example is one of 54 built to the "Six-Light Saloon" style known as the Flying Spur by H.J. Mulliner. Bentley still uses this appellation in modern times, so if you've ever wondered where it came from, it is a reference to the family crest of Arthur Johnstone, Mulliner's managing director at the time. Clan Johnstone of Scotland's heraldic banner featured a prominent winged spur and the Latin for "never unprepared."
With its lightweight aluminum bodywork, this was as quick as a 1950s Bentley Continental got, a luxury sedan infused with the spirit of the old Le Mans warriors. It's quintessentially aristocratic and English, and you can just picture old Alfie at the wheel, a rare smile lighting up that jowly face.
Originally delivered in grey, this car was repainted a lovely dark green when restored over a decade ago. This contrasts nicely with the light tan interior, which was restored slightly earlier, near the same time that the car was mechanically refreshed. It's said to need nothing, though the seller notes that there are a few minor oil leaks. That's how you know that British cars actually have oil in them.
This Continental Flying Spur would be rare and desirable all by itself, but the Hitchcock connection adds a shiver of exciting provenance. Head on over to Bring a Trailer for your chance to make the winning bid. You don't want this one to disappear in the rear window.
The auction ends on September 30.
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