This eye-catching 1949 Bentley MkVI Light Touring Saloon by Hooper will make its UK debut at Auto Royale, a brand-new concours coming to Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire on 16-18 July.
It will be one of 10 classic cars making up The Maharaja Cars class, curated by UAE-based author and motoring historian, Mohammed Luqman Ali Khan, and features previous Pebble Beach and Rétromobile stars.
And in the year that the Spirit of Ecstasy marks its 110th anniversary, there will be several Rolls-Royces in the line-up, including Katie Forrest’s ‘Nellie’, a 1912 40/50 Silver Ghost ‘Taj Mahal’ that was originally in the collection of the Maharaja of Nabha, and was a class winner at the 2019 London Concours.
But only time will tell if they can outshine this colourful Bentley, once owned by the Maharaja of Mysore, which was crowned Best in Show at 2020’s 21 Gun Salute concours – and you can see why it has the ‘rhubarb and custard car’ nickname.
Similarly bright is this 1930 Delage D8 Sports Tourer, last seen in public at the 2012 edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, which also forms part of this Maharaja Cars class.
Its first keeper was the Maharaja Holkar of Indore and it wears Figoni coachwork.
