Parting with his 3 Litre ‘Greenfly’ was a wrench, but the sale to Pennsylvania introduced Green to new American friends and led to an ambitious tour of the USA in Honeysuckle.
Upon Green’s acquisition the 4¼-litre’s mileage was recorded at 70,000, and he spent the first six months of ownership getting the car up to his fastidious standards.
Green did much of the work, but for the chassis overhaul he enlisted specialist ‘Mac’ McKenzie.
The car was always immaculately presented and a regular at BDC concours events, including at Kensington Gardens, which Green organised.
Even with these 17in wheels, the Bentley rides extremely well
Honeysuckle was superbly maintained by Somerton Motors in Daleham Mews, Hampstead, and consistently took class wins including the BDC Overall Champion title in 1967 and the WAL Cook Trophy for best-maintained Derby Bentley.
At the 1968 British Grand Prix, Green and Honeysuckle were invited for the pre-race circuit tour, with Piers Courage riding in the passenger seat around Silverstone.
Green loved driving his Bentleys more than anything, and Honeysuckle was used for many memorable trips around Britain and Europe.
Highlights included the BDC’s Eastbourne Rally and a road-rally challenge with the local police team.
This Bentley has hydraulic shock absorbers that help its ride and handling
Green’s most ambitious road trip in the Derby was that tour across America in the late ’50s.
The car was shipped to New York and, after a tense few days waiting for Honeysuckle to be released from the docks, the long journey began with a route that included visits to car museums and collectors.
The sight of Green driving the gold Bentley into Detroit surrounded by finned cruisers and towering Peterbilt trucks en route to the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village must have distracted local motorists.
When Green got lost, one Detroit citizen went miles out of his way to get the visitor back on course. Other highlights included a trip to Hershey and a concours in Morristown. Because most entrants had arrived by trailer, Green easily won the award for the furthest travelled.
This Bentley’s history is very well documented
In later years Green ventured to Canada, where a spectacular thunderstorm flooded the roads and damaged the car’s exhaust system.
Miles from civilisation, Green motored noisily on until he spotted a small roadside garage. When the mechanics concluded he’d have to transport the Bentley to Chicago for repair, Green set about fixing it himself.
Taking a pair of tinsnips from his toolkit, he cut up an oil drum, and, with some extra-large Jubilee clips, fashioned a temporary repair.
The fix lasted throughout the holiday and many subsequent adventures, including a run to the island of Elba.
This classic Bentley has travelled more than twice round the clock
When the UK held its Common Market referendum in 1975, Green and Honeysuckle joined a 200-strong convoy of pre-war cars to Brussels as part of the Drive into Europe campaign to safeguard motorists’ rights.
After 33 years of ownership, and going twice around the clock, Green got the chance to buy “an utterly original 4½ Litre Vanden Plas tourer”.
Aged 70-plus, he liked the idea of his last Bentley choice going full circle. Honeysuckle was sold to dealer Charles Howard, who kept it for 10 years before selling it to the Blackhawk Collection in California where, in the Eagle Nest Place museum, it kept company with some of the world’s most spectacular cars.
Three years later Honeysuckle was on the seas again, heading back to England after acquisition by Derby Bentley aficionado Anthony Moody.
This car’s unique extended rear bumper helps to elongate its shape yet further
When invited to a prestigious Paris concours, there was no option but for Moody – who was fully aware of Green’s epic tours – to drive Chèvrefeuille from London to Paris.
The famous Bentley with three friends aboard surprised a few modern drivers as it cruised past on the autoroute at 85mph in overdrive at a relaxed 2500rpm.
After cleaning the car early on Saturday morning outside the hotel, Moody motored down the Champs-Élysées, around the Arc de Triomphe and into the Bois de Boulogne.
After the event, Moody began an idyllic tour of the Loire valley, covering 1300 miles in eight days before a fast run back to Warwickshire.
This stylish Bentley has always been carefully cared for
Making the perfect Derby Bentley pair, Honeysuckle kept company in Moody’s collection with the 4¼-litre Gurney Nutting Drophead that James Bond drove in the 007 classic Never Say Never Again.
In recent years, Honeysuckle has been back to America for the remarkable 2019 Bentley Centennial display at Pebble Beach.
On the pre-event Tour down Highway One its signature paint looked luminous as it purred along the Pacific coast. Green would no doubt have approved, and I hope lucky future owners continue his driving philosophy with B154MR.
This luminous Bentley has lived a colourful life
At standstill this famous Derby is eye-catching, but there’s nothing like seeing it in motion.
Wafting around the Cotswolds through the autumnal splendour, the scene looks like something straight out of the pre-war Bentley promotional magazine On the Road.
Images: Luc Lacey
Thanks to Martin Chisholm (classicmotorhub.com); Bentley Drivers Club; John Blundell; historian Malcolm Bobbitt
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Mick Walsh
Mick Walsh is Classic & Sports Car’s International Editor