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Unusual Issues In Stranger Locations: A Bippu Bentley


Earlier in the year, I decided to turn a Speedhunting trip down to Hiroshima into a little holiday with my partner.

At one point during the getaway we found ourselves in a fancy little bistro which seated all of 10 customers and served delicate dishes in quick succession. Being more of a ramen and tap beer bloke I felt a little out of my depth, but when the chef asked if we knew about the car museum on Kurahashi-jima, I was quickly brought back into my comfort zone. A car museum on an island? Now that needed some investigation.

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A quick search on Google Maps unearthed the F.H.Royce Museum. Pictures of classic cars, chandeliers, an opulent gold-trimmed chaise and an owner who looked a little like a wax dummy from Madame Tussauds, meant a road trip was inevitable.

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The trip down to the south coast of Kurahashi-jima is worth it just for the scenery. Archipelagoes spanned with suspension bridges, dotted with fishing villages and inhabited by eagles and hawks – it was breathtaking.

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As we soon found out, the F.H.Royce Museum itself doubles as a restaurant and hotel, and even has its own private beach.

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Inside, you’ll find an extravagant, fluorescent pink-embellished ballroom and a lounge filled from ceiling to wall with model cars of all makes and models. It’s totally over the top, but totally amazing at the same time.

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Is that Dominic Toretto’s Charger on top of an ornate antique buffet?

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Unfortunately, the museum’s eccentric owner, Mr. Hidenori Hayashi, was unable to meet with me – I would have really loved to meet the man that built this place – but a member of his staff (fully tuxedoed up with pink uwabaki, I might add) was on hand to give us a little tour.

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I’ll admit, most of the information he told me went in one ear and out the other; a burble of dates and production numbers that were impossible to remember.

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But amidst all the classic and vintage machinery sat something a lot different. The elephant in the room was a bippu (VIP) style 1996 Bentley Continental R.

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Sure, the museum collection was pretty much all Rolls-Royces and Bentleys and this was one of the latter, but it definitely came as a surprise. Or maybe it shouldn’t have given what I had already seen elsewhere in the venue.

This particular Continental R was one of that last coach-built cars to leave the Mulliner Parks Ward factory in Willesden, London. But it’s what was done to the giant coupé after it left the UK that’s important here.

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Sometime during its life in Japan, this Bentley was given the right royal wide-body treatment. Custom vented fenders have added 140mm, pushing out the car’s overall width to a maniacal 2.01m (6.6ft).

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But not only has it gone out, it’s also gone down – way down over giant 22-inch wheels.

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They say it’s all in the details though, so I hope you’ve noticed the embossed Bentley logo on the boot, the jewel-encrusted badges, the smoked headlights, faux stacked exhaust tips and a sprinkling of LED lights for some extra sparkle.

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Now, I’m sure many of you are questioning the value of such a unique styling choice. I am too, and I wonder whether having the only one of something is going to drive the desirability of this car, or whether it means that there’s only one for a reason. I’ll let you decide.

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Mr. Hayashi obviously loves this thing, hence why he added it to his collection. He also drives the bippu Bentley regularly, which is awesome.

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One thing is for certain though, if you’re ever going to find a car like this in a place like this, it’s going to be in Japan.

Toby Thyer
Instagram _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk



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