If you’re willing to tell your young one a bedtime story that will keep him or her dreaming all night, you can’t go wrong with the iconic tale of Bentley’s 1930 Blue Train challenge. Adults need their stories too, so the Flying B gentlemen have decided to play the reenactment game.
The modern version of the ultimate Bentley Boy story took place back on August 15 this year. Ever wondered what the hottest place on Earth was at the time? Yes, we are talking about Saudi Arabia, which happened to be the kingdom of choice for this modern day Bentley vs. train battle.
A Continental GT V8 S Convertible went up against Saudi Arabia’s only passenger desert train. The locomotive pulls its way from Riyadh, a place located in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, to Damman on the Arabian Gulf. This is a 298-mile (480 km) journey through a land that rivals the Open Desert of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
The Conti was manhandled by the obviously British Steven Kane. So what makes him a modern-day Bentley Boy? The time spend racing Crewe machines as part of the Bentley Team M-Sport should be enough to answer that question.
Just like it happened back in 1930 when Woolf Barnato beat the famous Train Blue northwards from the Côte d’Azur to Calais, Kane won. He even had four minutes to spare, which he might have just used to look after his sun-threatened skin - we’re not sure how much of the journey was completed with the roof down, but that’s how we see the man in the video below.
“Four hours is the same time as a stint at Le Mans. But this was far more stressful. The heat, the conditions, not knowing where the train was, while driving within the limits of the country’s regulations. It was a race like no other. I hope Barnato would be proud,” Kane said.
But wait, there’s a problem here. The issue has nothing to do with Bentley, but with the shape our society has taken. Sure, the social media tracking tools aren’t exactly calibrated for tracking 1930s results, but we’re sure the modern version won’t even get close to the attention level received by the original race.
You see, while you’re here reading this, tons of people are busy checking out the latest halo hollow music video on Youtube, following the YOLO generation trends.
For those of you who want to know more about both the new-age and the original race, you can check out the press releases below.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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