In 2022, more than 77,000 speeding offences were recorded in Kent alone. If that wasn’t worrying enough, over 500 drivers were actually recorded travelling at speeds in excess of 100mph, eight were caught going over 150mph, and one driver was found to be driving at 164mph on the M25.
These eye-opening numbers show a 23% increase in speeding offences since 2010.
Driving at high speeds carries huge risks, not only for the driver and passengers but also for innocent people who happen to be out on the road at the time.
Considering the speed limit on the M25 is 70mph, the drivers who were travelling at 150mph and beyond were moving at more than double the highest speed allowed.
Modern cars are usually equipped with a lot of safety features, so it’s likely that some drivers fall into a false sense of security and think they are safe enough to drive at such high speeds. With the reduced time to react to unexpected situations though, it may come as no surprise that 24% of traffic deaths are linked to someone driving at an inappropriate speed.
When asked about the increase in speed offences, Chief Inspector Craig West, who is head of roads policing at Kent Police, said: “There are still too many who travel at unacceptable speeds and put themselves and other road users at risk of serious harm”.
“Vehicles are potentially lethal weapons and the faster your speed, the less time you have to react to unforeseen hazards or mistakes from other drivers and the greater the impact any collision may be.”
While we all may be guilty of driving a little too fast at times, it would be hard to think of a reasonable excuse for going more than 150mph. Kent police continue to prioritise speeding as an area of focus and other forces around the country are likely to continue to do the same unless the dangerous driving is reduced.
This morning, we welcomed another group of classic car enthusiasts into The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars for our most recent Coffee & Classics.
While they were here, they enjoyed lots of delicious coffee and snacks as well as getting to admire a range of classic vehicles up close.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars would like to thank all those who attended and we look forward to seeing even more of you very soon for our next Coffee & Classics.
2023 marks 100 years of MG. Known for some of the most popular British sports cars over the years, celebrating a century of automotive engineering is something that many owners and enthusiasts around the world will join in with.
Since 1923, there have been multiple successes, challenges, innovations, and a whole load of cars! To recognise MG’s impact on British car history, it seems fitting to share some history of the MG brand.
It All Began With A Successful Partnership
In the early 1900s, William Morris began manufacturing bicycles in Birmingham. However, come 1911, he was selling and repairing a range of motor cars from his premises which he had now renamed Morris Garages.
1922 was the year when William Morris could quite possibly have made the best decision of his life when he gave his head salesman, Cecil Kimber, a promotion to the position of General Manager. Cecil was a special individual who could not only manage the showroom and garage successfully, but he also had a talent for designing car bodywork.
When Cecil Kimber came up with a bull-nosed Morris Cowley in 1923, the MG name was used for the very first time. This marked the beginning of a soon-to-be 100-year-old car manufacturer.
1924 saw a range of cars carry the MG badge. Known as ‘Kimber Specials’ it wasn’t long before larger premises were needed to keep up with the growing order book. 4 years later, in 1928, production was moved to an old leather works – the famous Abingdon factory.
Sold To Morris Motors
In 1935, William Morris sold MG to Morris Motors. Prior to the sale though, MG had already produced a whole host of successful models including several Midgets, K-Type Magnette plus the L and M-Type Magnas.
Once under the control of Morris Motors, one of the first models to come out of the factory was the 1936 TA Midget. Before the first world war, the last few MGs to be built were the SA 2-litre, TA/B Midget, 1.5-litre VA, and the 2.6-litre WA.
During the war, Cecil Kimber left MG and sadly died in a train crash in 1945.
After the war had ended, MG went back to producing cars such as the two-seat TC, the 1947 YA saloon, and the 1949 TD Midget. Morris Motors would go on to merge with the Austin Motor Company in 1952 and formed the British Motor Corporation (BMC).
British Motor Corporation
1956 saw the production of what would be a top-seller for MG, the MGA. The MGA was available in two forms, a coupe and a convertible. In 1959, a 1600 OHV-powered MGA arrived and the MGB came in 1962.
It was in 1966, when BMC changed its name to British Motor Holdings after its merger with Jaguar, that led to a further merger with British Leyland, that would end up with MG becoming a successful part of motoring history.
The Rise And Fall
The MGB was quietly dropped in 1969. British Leyland certainly seemed to have a bias towards their Triumph models instead of MG ones. This was quite apparent during the 1970s when only the MGB V8 was produced under the MG brand. Once Midget production stopped in 1979, there was only one MG model left – the MGB with the now rubber bumpers. However, in 1980, British Leyland halted the production of MGBs and would go on to close the Abingdon factory.
MG went through various ups and downs over the next few years with a few notable models such as the MG badged Maestro – noted at the time as the world’s fastest hatchback, and the Montego. The 1.8-litre K-Series powered MGF in 1995 was also a big success.
Year 100
2023 is, so far, proving to be a great year for MG. With the brand recently announcing that they have achieved a record first quarter, their 100th year seems to have started positively.
Already this year, MG has sold 20,679 cars with more than 12,000 being delivered in March alone. The brand is now positioned as the second-best-selling manufacturer of electric cars in the UK. More success has come from the MG4 EV being crowned ‘UK Car of the Year 2023’. The judging panel described the MG4 E4 as “a landmark moment for EVs”.
Surviving 100 years in the automotive industry is no easy task but that is exactly what MG has done. Despite all the challenges the brand has had to overcome, we are still in the fortunate position where we get to see a wide range of MGs on the road; and this is something that we hope will continue for another 100 years!
News broke in the last couple of days, that automotive pioneer and multiple land speed record holder Craig Breedlove sadly passed away aged 86.
Breedlove was part of a small alumni that would push and reset the boundaries of speed in the 1950s and 60s while living to tell the tale, in a sport that would see far too many taken far too soon.
A Southern California native, Breedlove’s obsession with speed started young. At just 13 years old, he got his hands on a 32′ Ford Coupe that he would drive around in secret, but just a few years later at 17, he would be taking an alcohol fueled 1934 Ford to 154MPH on the dry lakes of the sunshine state. This, is where the story of the fastest man in America would begin.
He began his high-speed career in what would now be seen as the start of the golden age of land speed racing. Where amateur enthusiasts could take homemade creations out on the dried salt lakes such as Bonneville and El Mirage to achieve speeds unseen or unobtainable just a few years before. To put into context, in 1927 Sir Henry Seagrave achieved a two-way average speed on 231MPH in his twin-aero engined, purpose built land speed car ‘The Slug‘. In 1957, at the age of 20, Breedlove piloted an alcohol powered ‘belly tanker’ at the Bonneville salt flats to a new record of 236MPH.
Photo by Mike Newbury from Unsplash
His chosen career path, would see him work for legendary aircraft manufacturer Douglas (later McDonald Douglas) as a structural engineer. The skills and knowledge gained from this would have a lasting and impactful future on his later career, speed.
As the sun set on the 1950s, the age of jet power had truly begun to dawn over the horizon of land speed racing. In 1959, Breedlove began his first forays into this new method of propulsion and into the record books.
With a second hand J47 jet engine, Breedlove made his jet fueled way into history with the first iteration of the legendary Spirit of America.
This move into the jet powered world, would also begin one of the most exciting eras of speed the world had ever seen. The 1960s would see the land speed record set, smashed and reset multiple times over a matter of months as Breedlove entered the fray against drivers/builders such as Art Arfons and his half-brother Walt. This triangle of competition would push the boundaries of what people thought would be possible out in the emptiness of the Utah salt plains.
In his first time out with the J47 powered Spirit of America, Breedlove would run the ‘car’ at over 400MPH – clocking a 407MPH average over the two-way course. In response, Tom Green (the driver for Walt Arfons) would respond with a 413MPH record in February of 1964 only to have that record shattered by Walt’s half brother Art at the wheel of his own creation ‘The Green Monster’ with 434MPH. To respond, Breedlove came back with a 468, 500 and then 526MPH. This would spark one of the greatest rivalries in the automotive world between Arfons and Breedlove that would see them push eachother harder, faster and stronger towards what many see as the true ragged edge.
Famously, at the end of his record setting 526MPH run – both of the parachutes used to slow down Spirit of America tore to shreds and because of this, Breedlove completely burnt the brakes out trying to slow the several ton machine down. He outran the boundaries of the salt flats, rolling the ‘car’ into the lake which sat at the end of the course. His crew, fearing the worst, rushed down the course to help their driver… only to find him soaking wet and dancing on the waters edge and screaming ”and now for my next trick, I will set myself on fire!” A true reflection of a man who understood the risks but chased the rewards. His car was in tatters and he knew that someone would be along to challenge that record soon…
He wasn’t wrong, his biggest rival Art Arfons soon responded with a 536MPH record.
Photo by Sierra Ray from Unsplash
The only way to truly prove a point was to push the limit of what was even conceivable. Breedlove came back to Arfons’s record with a now historic 600MPH run in November of 1965. To back it up, Breedlove then pushed Spirit of America even further on the way back to get an average of 606.6MPH. The first man to run 500 and 600MPH. With the sound barrier growing closer and closer, pilots and builders had no clue when this would happen as it also depends on multiple environmental factors. Would the car simply slip past it like a plane? Or, because of the shockwave being created so close to the ground – would it instantly rip the land speeder apart as it traveled across the vast emptiness? No one knew.
The following story has passed into speed record folklore: Breedlove and Arfons were bitter rivals. Arfons being the working mans hero and Breedlove as the all-American poster boy with the backing of huge sponsors and wore a spacesuit for his record runs. One night, towards the end of those crazy few years, Breedlove and Arfons would meet on the edge of Salt Flats. No one knows the words the two contemporaries exchanged exactly, but people have said it went along the lines of one asking the other ”when does all this end?” with the other replying ”when one of us gets it wrong”.
The fear didn’t stop Breedlove from trying to push the limits harder and harder. Over the following years, Breedlove would attempt to beat his records. However, he never did manage to push that any further but neither did Arfons who trying to break a record would see him survive the fastest and most severe accident on earth at 609mph with only a headache and two black eyes.
Over those beautiful few years in the early to mid 1960s, these superhumans would expand what people thought was possible. New ways to engineer solutions to problems never before faced – tyre technology, suspension set up and construction and advanced aerodynamic theory and implementation were all aspects of the automotive world which had been moved on at a pace no one had seen before.
In the following 20 to 30 years, the land speed record would only be moved on by around 100MPH. The current record being attributed to Richard Nobles Thrust SSC, an evolution of everything learned from pioneers such as Breedlove, to 763.055MPH – breaking the sound barrier for the first time on land. Breedlove’s status in the history books are sealed, his achievements and records can never be taken away or tainted or disputed.
The wonderful story of this gladiator of motion is best summed up in a beautiful film, The Wildest Ride. Released in 1964, it follows Breedloves attempts and record run to be the first person to cross the 500MPH mark (you can watch the film for free on YouTube below).
Craig Breedlove, and the team behind Spirit of America, were true pioneers of their time. From all of the world, and all throughout the car world, he will be sorely missed. One of the final connections to those glory days of speed.
In the midst of these complex and challenging times for almost all businesses, we are very excited to share that Bridge Classic Cars has achieved noteworthy recognition from a prominent data analysis company.
They recently reached out and informed us that, among the landscape of 374 classic car specialist companies throughout the UK, we have been given the rating: STRONG.
This accolade is something the entire team is proud of. Navigating the current economic climate has undoubtedly presented its share of trials, making this recognition all the more meaningful. This acknowledgement serves as a testament to our team’s perseverance, innovative approach, and the outstanding service we provide for all of our customers.
Moving forward, we remain determined in our pursuit of excellence, continually setting benchmarks in the classic car industry and upholding the standard of being “STRONG” in every sense of the word.
If you enjoy playing along with Bridge Classic Cars Competitions, then you might be able to save some money every time you enter one of the draws.
Our exclusive VIP membership gives you an extra 10% off all competition tickets. Whether you are buying tickets at a launch sale price, using an email coupon code, or purchasing at full price, the 10% VIP discount will automatically be applied to all of your purchases.
For just £10 a year, you can become a VIP member and save an extra 10% every time you enter one of our competitions.
If you are not already a VIP member and you enter our competitions regularly, then you could save money with our VIP membership.
We have recently taken delivery of some new seats for The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars.
Now that we are hosting more events, we have been working hard to make the building as comfortable and as welcoming as possible for everyone who attends, and the chairs are the latest addition.
The Atelier continues to transform into a stylish petrolhead location and we are looking forward to welcoming even more of you to the workshop very soon.
Over the weekend, a very special project arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ.
This Cobra project has been in the works for the past 30 years with its previous owner, but now the current owner has bought it to our Pettistree workshop to get the car working and fitted out before then moving onto the next phase of work.
We’re excited to get started on this Cobra and make sure you check out the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on the Cobra project very soon.
After months of research and development, the team here at Bridge Classic Cars are extremely excited to reveal the first stage prototype of our submarine car. Loosely based on an Amphicar 770, our Sub-A-Roo is now moving into the testing phase.
Once the roof is in place on this game-changing vehicle, the Sub-A-Roo will be able to stay underwater for several days without needing to resurface. Thanks to some incredible ingenuity from our team of technicians, provisions for 2 passengers for 2 days can be kept on board.
Reaching depths of up to 100 metres, underwater, the Sub-A-Roo can travel at speeds up to 20mph while a land speed of up to 35mph is also possible in the right conditions.
With a completion date planned for mid-October, mass production will hopefully begin in early 2024.
We look forward to sharing more exciting updates with you over the coming weeks and months.
Last night, we invited all of our Mini friends to come over to our Pettistree workshops for the live draw of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini in our Atelier building.
With the weather holding off, we opened the doors for everyone to come in with incredible woodfired pizzas from Picollo Pizza Box and the Atelier Bar serving everything from our Rijo42 Coffee to the always popular Adnams 0.5% range – Our friends had something in hand to listen to the amazing set by Annika Rands.
As the clock struck 7PM and the sun began to dip lower across the Suffolk countryside, it was time for us to find out who the lucky winner of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini was! Would it be someone in the room…
Molly and Freddie took our virtual friends are the Atelier through our Facebook live stream, going through some of the upcoming competition cars as well as some other exciting news about a very special Jaguar which you’ll find out more about very soon.
At 10 past 7, as always, the competition closes. This marks the point where fate and luck collide as we find a new home for a dream classic somewhere in the UK. With only a couple of hundred tickets remaining, Molly gathered everyone in the room a little closer and beckoned those behind a screen to edge forward on their seats.
As with every live draw, we wait until everyone (both in the room and on the web) can clearly see our screen loaded up with the Google Random Number Generator. After a quick test outside of the 1-4999 tickets, everything was in place to find the classic Mini a new home.
Molly carefully and precisely put the numbers in, 1 and 4999 for the generator to search through. With a drum roll and a countdown by everyone in the audience, Molly clicked the fateful button which has led to over 130 people winning through Bridge Classic Cars Competitions.
4027.
Those were the exact numbers that showed up bold and resolute on the screen.
That particular ticket had been part of a handful of tickets bought by Anthony Wardley – The new owner of our 1979 Austin Morris Mini 850.
This morning we welcomed the Mercedes-Benz club to The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars.
It was great to see so many members of the club enjoy a coffee with us before going on a guided tour of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Everyone here had a fantastic time, the atmosphere was extremely positive, and we hope to see you all again very soon.
Olympian turned celebrity coach, Greg Whyte, was in Ipswich recently. As this is so local to us, we felt that we had to go and listen to him speak at the Ipswich Sporting Lunch Club, hosted at local restaurant Venue 16.
Greg spoke to a large audience of local business leaders and professionals about raising funds for SportsAid.
According to their research, SportsAid has found that, before becoming a household name, talented athletes will spend 10,000 hours and thousands of pounds to make it to elite level. Without funding and support from SportsAid, this simply would not be a feasible option for many promising sports stars of the future.
SportsAid Suffolk has already raised and distributed more than £300,000 to support young people in the county.
There are always classic vehicles coming into the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. However, every now and again, multiple vehicles all show up at the same time.
Some of the team here at Bridge Classic Cars recently had the opportunity to hear the story of Rogue Trader, Nick Leeson from the man himself.
For those who don’t know, Nick Leeson is a former trader who ended up in prison after he single-handedly bankrupted Barings Bank in 1995. Although he was ultimately convicted of fraud, Nick actually started his trading career as something of a future star. After making massive profits for Barings, Nick was moved to Singapore where he made his first unauthorised trades.
Nick’s role should have been cash-neutral for his employer, meaning that any profits and losses belonged to the client’s portfolios that he was managing. Barings Bank would get a commission for any successes but they wouldn’t lose any money in the trades. However, what was actually happening is that Nick was using the bank’s money to try and recoup trading losses.
Nick used the extremely risky strategy of betting double the amount of money lost to try and get the losses back while making a profit too. This ended up with Barings Bank losing a total of £827 million in 1995. This huge amount of money was double the bank’s trading capital and proved to be the beginning of the end for the 230-year-old bank.
While in prison, Nick wrote a book called Rogue Trader which subsequently was adapted into a film starring Ewan McGregor and Anna Friel in 1999.
Obviously, the actions of Nick Leeson impacted a huge number of people and there is still a strong element of controversy and emotion that surrounds him. That being said, hearing his story and his explanation of what was going on at the time was certainly very interesting and something that the team will remember.
The new wheels and tyres for our 1905 Riley 9HP have arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Now that they are here, they can be prepared and fitted to our very special Riley.
Since it now seems that our Riley is a prototype for the first car to have removable wheels, the arrival of new wheels and tyres becomes even more interesting.
We recently welcomed the Porsche Club GB to The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars. Having more than 30 Porsches parked up outside while members of the club enjoyed a coffee and a chat before having a personal tour of the workshop was something that everyone here enjoyed just as much as our guests.
Thank you to all of the members of the Porsche Owners Club that attended, it was a fantastic morning spent with you and we hope you come back and see us again very soon.
Several car clubs are coming to visit The Atelier like the Porsche Owners Club did, and we are equally as excited to welcome all of them to Bridge Classic Cars.
If you are interested in holding a club meeting in The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars, please contact lily on events@bridgeclassiccars.co.uk or check out our Events page for an up-to-date list of what’s happening.
On Saturday 25th March, we hosted an evening with Ed Stafford in The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars.
The night saw more than 100 people join us to hear Ed talk about his adventures, his life, and his current and future projects. It was such a great experience to listen to the exciting and inspiring stories from the man himself and we are extremely grateful to Ed for being so open and honest with us and the audience.
From hearing about becoming the first person to ever walk the length of the Amazon River and being arrested and threatened with death along the way, to living on an uninhabited Pacific island in complete isolation, to family life with his wife and children, Ed shared so much that everyone in attendance couldn’t help but feel even more connected to him than they did to begin with.
Also on the night, we found the winner of Ed’s 2015 Land Rover Defender 110. The lucky winner was randomly selected during our live draw that Ed joined in with. The Defender was very popular and sold out while he was on stage.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars had a fantastic evening and we loved welcoming so many faces, both new and old, into The Atelier. As the event was designed to be an intimate evening, the audience could speak to Ed and take photos with him. Many books were signed and even more selfies were taken!
A big thank you goes out to everyone who attended An Evening With Ed Stafford and thanks to Ed for being such an amazing guest.
We will be hosting more Evening With… events throughout the year including our Evening With Martin Donnelly, Formula 1 legend on Saturday, 20th May 2023 and we are very excited to welcome more of you to Bridge Classic Cars very soon.
The BBC has announced that filming of series 34 of Top Gear has been halted following Freddie Flintoff’s crash back in December. The accident happened while Freddie was driving a Morgan Super 3 which is an open-top 3-wheeled sports car.
Although this doesn’t mean Top Gear is no more, it certainly indicates that a likely outcome of the situation is the program no longer being made. The BBC has said that a final decision on how best to continue will be made later in the year.
Freddie was hospitalised after the accident and is reported to have suffered broken ribs and facial injuries. The show has been in the news several times over the years due to presenters getting injured – most notably, former presenter Richard Hammond’s 2006 crash while driving a jet-powered car at around 300mph. Richard suffered a frontal lobe brain injury and was in a coma before eventually recovering. However, the TV personality has indicated that he still suffers some side effects from the injuries he sustained in the accident.
A Health and Safety review will take place before any final plans are made but it would appear that something needs to change to prevent even more serious incidents from occurring.
Top Gear has been an incredibly popular show for the BBC and has versions of it made in countries all over the world. If it does indeed end up being axed, it would likely be a tough decision for the broadcaster to make.
In a statement, the BBC said  “Under the circumstances, we feel it would be inappropriate to resume making series 34.”
“We have sincerely apologised to Freddie and will continue to support him with his recovery.”
“We understand this will be disappointing for fans, but it is the right thing to do, and we’ll make a judgement about how best to continue later this year.”
It would be a shame for many people if this does prove to be the end for Top Gear. Hopefully, an alternative solution can be found but, for now, at least, Top Gear is on hold indefinitely.
It was great to see the members of the club spending time with us enjoying coffee and snacks before getting to have a look behind-the-scenes of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop, as they had a tour of our facilities.
We always enjoy hosting car clubs. With several others already booked in, we are looking forward to seeing more of you in the very near future.
Our 1986 Daimler DS420 and our 1970 Bristol 411 have left the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and are now on their way back to their owner in the Netherlands.
Both cars have been completely transformed from how they looked when they first arrived with us and we are very excited to see them be reunited with their owner. The 1970 Bristol 411 was a right-hand drive vehicle before our team of classic car technicians converted it to a left-hand drive. Once converted it was rebuilt and eventually turned into the beautiful classic car you can see in the images below.
The 1986 Daimler DS420 originated in America before being brought to us. Since being in the workshop, its colour has changed from white to blue and various other issues have been resolved to get the car into the condition it leaves us in.
After a lot of time and effort, it is always great to see restored cars leaving the Bridge Classic Cars workshop and being returned to their owners.
We hope our customer enjoys their restored classics and we look forward to seeing them being driven on the roads in the Netherlands.
Another classic car will soon be arriving at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop. Our 1976 Triumph Spitfire 1500 is coming to us for a full restoration.
This will be the 4th concours restoration for one of our customers. We will be working closely with them over the coming weeks and months to determine the final specifications of the registration. However, one thing that has already been confirmed is that it will stay as a left-hand drive vehicle. As it will be heading off to France once it leaves us, the current configuration is ideal.
We are looking forward to work beginning on our 1976 Triumph Spitfire very soon and we are sure it will look incredible once the restoration is complete.
Lucky winner, Michael Bambridge took delivery of his 1968 MGB GT recently.
Michael won this beautiful classic car when his ticket number, 2232, was randomly chosen during our live draw held on 9th March 2023.
Everyone here at Bridge Classic Cars loves MGBs and this one is no exception. We would like to congratulate Michael again on his win and we hope he enjoys being an MGB owner.
The brand new Ferrari Roma Spider has been revealed – and it certainly seems to be causing quite a stir.
This 612bhp V8 convertible supercar is the first front-engined Ferrari to have a fabric roof since 1969 when the 365 GTS4 was released. The new Spider is heavier than the Roma Coupe (84kg heavier, in fact) but the added weight is mostly the result of the roof storage and wind deflector that helps increase comfort and aerodynamics.
The wind deflector rotates the backrest of the rear seats into a position where it sits behind the driver and passenger’s head. This clever design is deployed with the press of a small button on the centre console. Speaking of the centre console, the new Spider has the familiar Roma dual-cockpit look thanks to the high position of the control panel.
Performance figures are pretty impressive too with 612bhp being generated from the 3.9-litre V8 turbo. 0-62mph is done in 3.4 seconds and you can carry on all the way up to just under 200mph. It also has an 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox and it sounds even better than previous models thanks to the new exhaust tune.
The roof can be opened or folded away in 13.5 seconds and this can be done at any speed up to 37mph. Inside the car, the driver benefits from an 8.4-inch central display and, as an optional extra, a screen can be added to the passenger side too.
A Ferrari like this certainly won’t come cheap and the UK price point has not yet been confirmed by Ferrari. However, a smart guess would be that it will be more expensive than the coupe which currently starts from around £175,000. This might make it an unobtainable car to most but, even admiring it from a distance, you can’t help but appreciate its stunning looks.
Hollywood actor Theo James has been seen driving a 1962 Austin Healey 3000 during the filming of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix adaptation of The Gentlemen. Theo plays the lead character of Eddie Halstead in the highly-anticipated series that takes place in the same world as the widely successful film of the same name from 2019.
Theo was dressed smartly as he drove the classic Austin Healey through the grounds of the Badminton Estate in South Gloucestershire. This is the same location that has been used for scenes in Bridgerton, Pearl Harbour, and 28 Days Later.
A 1960 Austin Healey 3000 similar to the one driven by Theo James, in the Bridge Classic Cars workshop
A camera could be clearly seen attached to the front of the car catching action shots of the actor driving the blue and white vehicle.
Theo has previously starred in multiple high-profile films such as The Divergent Trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant), Downton Abbey, How It Ends, and The Time Traveler’s Wife.
In the series, Theo’s character, Eddie, inherits his father’s large estate before discovering that it is actually a marijuana empire.
Guy Ritchie is the man behind the creation of The Gentlemen TV series and he will also direct the first two episodes. When talking about the new series, Guy said “The world of ‘The Gentlemen’ is a little bit of me, I’m thrilled that with Netflix, Miramax and Moonage we have this opportunity to inhabit it once again.
‘We’re looking forward to bringing fans back into that world, introducing new characters and their stories and I am excited to be doing it with this extremely talented cast.’
‘The Gentlemen’ is expected to be released towards the end of 2023 and we are sure that it will be an extremely popular series but, for now, we are more than happy to simply admire the 1962 Austin Healey 3000 being driven around the beautiful Badminton Estate.
If you haven’t been to visit us in person yet, you won’t have experienced what it’s like in The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars. Work still continues to make this space a very comfortable and enjoyable place to be for petrolheads, car clubs, and other classic car enthusiasts.
Since our licensed bar has been installed, we have had a new fire exit fitted, and some new furniture has been made too. Recently, we have begun the process of finding the best way to heat the beautiful events space.
We have had 2 wall-mounted heaters fitted and these are being tested to see if they are up to the job of heating the 2450 square feet building.
The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars continues to develop and improve. With more and more events being added to the calendar, we hope to see you in The Atelier very soon.
Craig has spent the day at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire at an auction hosted by H and H.
There was a wide variety of vehicles available for sale throughout the day, and Craig ended up purchasing more than one, which will find their way to the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in the next week or so.
A successful auction trip is always a good day and we are very pleased with the new additions to our collection – more on those very soon!
In the meantime, here’s a little behind-the-scenes look at some of the vehicles going to auction.
We hosted our second Coffee & Classics event this morning from The Atelier at Bridge Classic Cars.
It was great to welcome a group of fellow classic car enthusiasts to enjoy a coffee with us as well as have a behind-the-scenes tour of the Bridge Classic Cars workshop.
Our Coffee & Classics mornings happen on the second Tuesday of every month. With this and other exciting events coming up over the next few months, we hope to see even more of you very soon.
Thank you to everyone who came to see us this morning and we look forward to seeing you all again in the near future.
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