So to carry-on from last night’s ramblings……
Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motors Crewe were treading water or so it seemed to the world with not offering a “complete” in house built Rolls-Royce. Blatchley was assigned as head stylist along with his now ever growing team of budding designers to resolve the problem.
R & D is a very expensive exercise and R-R had just invested in the pressed Steel Body for the Bentley Mk VI and they were going to get their monies worth from the design. Since the factory at Crewe was still young and the Bentley Bodies came in from Pressed Steel Limited of Cowley, they had no real need for a Coachbuilding department on site.
Therefore the most economical way of building and evaluating the designs of Blatchley and his team was to sub them out to existing coachbuilders to build.
With Johns Gurney Nutting background, he was the ideal man for the job.
“I had all the contacts you see…..and knew a lot of the fellas” John began telling me.
So what happened next….after the Mk VI was signed off….and the episode with Daninos.
“Evernden set up a meeting with Abbotts of Farnham”
Evernden was Blatchley’s boss. A very experienced engineer who headed the Research and Development Department, not a stylist or designer, but an overall mechanical engineer who John told me was more interested in nuts & bolts than how things looked!
John took a whole series of drawings out of one of his drawers and again after a shuffling around which seemed to last a good while, began his story.
“I think these were around 46” handing me drawings which resembled the Coupe that Facel got Pininfarina to build. “It was sort of a test for them; you know; so that Royce’s could see if they were up to the job”
In front of me were several designs, coupe, saloon & dropheads. Each one had differing ideas and styling subtleties. (But make a note of the continued line of the front wing across the door to meet the rear wheel arch in each car)
“A few got built, and looked the part” John commented as I sat studying each picture.
For your benefit here’s a couple of photos of the Abbott built prototypes.
First one was called Project Farnham (as it was known at Crewe, based on Abbotts geographical location)
The second is Project Estoril
“I wanted to kill off the MkVI in favour of a more modern design…. But there was so much resistance from the finance people” John said.
As I handed the drawings back……
“JESUS, what’s that!”
My eye caught a glimpse of a beautiful painting in the drawer.
“Please tell me about this”
“Oh” John replied. “I’m not really supposed to talk about this one” There was a long pause….
”But now you’ve seen it I suppose it won’t matter any more”
What I’m going to share with you here on DDK is very special and VERY controversial.
It’s what I’m going to call The Chicken or the Hairy Egg Story.
“Well” said John, “It all started back in 1946 in an early meeting with Abbotts. They knew my work and had a private client who wanted a special body built on a Delahaye chassis and asked if I would design it for them”.
“Wow John. What, without R-R”
“Yes, a private commission”
“And this is the drawing?”
“Yes, I didn’t realise it was in here amongst this lot”
“So did they build it?”
“Oh yes, but as it was a very private customer it got hidden away in their collection I believe. I only saw it once. On another visit. Almost finished and it looked all I’d imagined” John replied.
Now. I don’t have a copy of the drawing, to show you as I understand its still with Johns son.
However after searching for quite a few years, the car finally came out of hiding and back into the public domain. Finished in 1946 by Abbott, it is one of the most beautiful Delahaye roadsters ever built and shows the evolution of Johns elegant and revolutionary Duesenburg speedster design pre-war.
This is where the plot thickens as they say…..Crewe knew nothing of Blatchley’s part in this or of the car.
John pulled out another design and placed it on the table. I nearly spat my tea out.
“Called this one Blizzard” John announced.
“They asked me to look at designing a drophead Bentley to fit the Mk VI Chassis, so, you know, I went through the motions and we gave them this” He said with that twinkle in his eye again.
“You are kidding me!” I said. “And they bought it?”
“Yes of course, we even got Abbotts to build us a prototype”
“Now you’re, having me on” I said.
“No, I have some pictures somewhere” was the reply and sure enough after a good few minutes of me aghast yet again (thinking the obvious that I hope you're thinking while looking at these pictures) John handed me some old photos.
“When was this” I asked.
“Early 48” John replied.
Now I was about to ask the question I hope your waiting for…..
“But this looks like a Jaguar XK?”
“It looks like a lot of things” was John’s reply.
Forever humble, he was not about to start taking credit for his design, he just shrugged and said “When David Brown from Aston Martin found we were using Abbotts, it all got a little complicated”
“Complicated, complicated….from what I can see, you’ve just designed the Jaguar XK and now your saying David Brown is involved!”
“Yes. Frank Feeley worked at Newns, he got asked to design a body for Malcolm Campbells Rapier. Well old Malcolm put him in touch with McNeil and we all got to know each other. Frank moved to Lagonda as designer and we met again when I bodied a few Lagondas. We always kept in touch. In 47 David Brown bought Lagonda and Frank carried on with them. Aston Martin were looking to build a few prototype bodies and we suggested Abbotts. Abbotts with my consent built Astons a Prototype roadster, DB2 I think”
Well, to say I thought I was going to hear the Jaguar story and this gets thrown in the mix!
“So are you saying that you designed the first DB2’s John?”
“Oh, no, they just got my approval” was John’s sincere reply.
“Come on, it’s your drawing here from 46, for the Delahaye….all of it!” I protested.
“And this is 46, that seals it, the first Jaguar XK’s were later 1950’s I’m sure”
At the time I didn’t know the exact date for the XK, but the whole thing seemed very fishy to me and I researched it over the following days. Sure enough the first prototype Jaguar XK’s did not exist until late 48 thru 1950, all the history of it being a stunning William Lyons Design and all!
The next time we met I was to ask John, how his design got into the hands of William Lyons.
The 1938 Berlin Motorshow showing the Erdmann & Rossi stand with a German built Bentley (black drophead behind mat on the walkway facing the white BMW) shadowed by the Swastika
