Seven The Hard Way: Possibly The Coolest Auction Of The Year

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

H.J Mulliners gave this model design the name “Flying Spur” which is well documented as the heraldic symbol of the Johnstone Clan in Scotland. The “Flying Spur” was awarded to the Johnstone clan for their help in allowing Bonnie Prince Charlie to escape on horseback.

That’s authentic British heritage, no Bentley-by-Breitling-by-Bentley-by-Brietling-by-Volkswagen needed. You’re looking at one of seven Flying Spurs for sale, from the collection of a Hungarian who escaped that Communist state to become an engineer, succeed beyond his wildest imagination, and acquire top-shelf examples of the Flying Spur wherever they could be found. That’s even cooler than the cars themselves, right?

The Boros Collection is now up for sale at Coys UK. I encourage you to read about the cars and the man who owned them. Now, let’s play a little game of “One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other”

This is one of Mr. Boros’ other Spurs:

It’s possible to quibble a little bit… perhaps you like the single-headlight Clouds better, perhaps you just don’t like big luxury cars. Still… look at it and imagine caning it down the B-road to your country estate, or pulling up to Stoke Park in it. Now, let’s examine the 1994-vintage Rolls-Royce Flying Spur, which was a turbocharged variant of the Silver Spur:

You can argue that this shape didn’t wear as well, but it’s still well-proportioned, clean, and elegant. Now, take a deep breath and continue:

Oh, look. It’s the Bentley Flying Spur. Right next to the S-Class so you can see the car with which Bentley intended to compete. A four-door Continental, which is to say a four-door version of a two-door version of a Volkswagen Phaeton. Looks like a Kia Amanti without the sense of dignity. Or maybe a Toyota Celica from the bug-eye era. It’s kind of sad, really. Bentley throws some lovely press trips, but this car is an embarrassment to the name and has been for several years now.

The seven original Flying Spurs are now old enough that it would be possible to bring one to the United States. We’d love for a TTAC reader to do just that, but more than that, we’d like someone to buy all seven and keep Mr. Boros’ dream going.

(NB: Although we would love to profit from an auction about which we are writing, TTAC has no affiliation with Coys or Mr. Boros.)

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Junebug Junebug on Jan 24, 2013

    I remember a Top Gear show from a while back where Clarkson and the hamster (Hammond) compared a RR & a BIG MB, both cost 6-7 thousand pounds, which I thought wow, then they added that "keeping" them running would be crazy expensive.

    • See 1 previous
    • Power6 Power6 on Jan 24, 2013

      @juicy sushi Mixing up two episodes...One where Clarkson and May compared their personal purchases, May's Rolls and Clarksons 600 Pullman. Another one Jezza and Hamster bought old cheap V12 cars, CL600 and 850Ci, to see if they were rubbish or not. Hefty service bills involved in both cases...

  • WildcatMatt WildcatMatt on Feb 25, 2013

    Pass the Grey Poupon, please.

  • Analoggrotto Kia EV9 was voted the best vehicle in the world and this is the best TOYOTA can do? Nice try, next.
  • 3-On-The-Tree 4cyl as well.
  • Luke42 I want more information about Ford’s Project T3.The Silverado EV needs some competition beyond just the Rivian truck. The Cybertruck has missed the mark.The Cybertruck is special in that it’s the first time Tesla has introduced an uncompetitive EV. I hope the company learns from their mistakes. While Tesla is learning what they did wrong, I’ll be shopping to replace my GMC Sierra Hybrid with a Chevy, a Ford, or a Rivian — all while happily driving my Model Y.
  • 3-On-The-Tree I wished they wouldn’t go to the twin turbo V6. That’s why I bought a 2021 Tundra V8.
  • Oberkanone My grid hurts!Good luck with installing charger locations at leased locations with aging infrastructure. Perhaps USPS would have better start modernizing it's Post offices to meet future needs. Of course, USPS has no money for anything.
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