A visit to Jack Barclay’s stock room of big-engined delights
By Straight-Six, published on 21 October 2011
It was during a pleasantly odorous Cuban cigar walk through the streets of London’s most prestigious streets that we were taken somewhere just a little bit special: Jack Barclay.
Right about now, our two UK-based readers will shrug their shoulders, roll over and go back to lazily pleasuring themselves. But everyone else might care to know just a bit more. You see, Jack Barclay was established in 1927 and is currently the world’s oldest and largest Bentley dealer.
Situated since 1953 in Mayfair’s illustrious Berkeley Square, the company’s founder was a man after our own hearts. And wallets. Mr. Jack Barclay was as a connoisseur of fine motor cars and an acclaimed racing driver, and in 1922, he formed a partnership and started trading as Barclay & Wyse, selling Rolls-Royce and Vauxhall motor cars. So far, so good. Indeed, much of Barlcay’s commercial success stemmed from his natural ability as a salesman, with the society press in the late 1920s labeling him “the finest luxury motor car salesman in the country.” But it was only in 1931, with Bentley’s introduction of the 3½ litre “Silent Sportscar” that the relationship between Jack Barclay and Bentley was cemented. A relationship that continues to this day.
And so it was that on a sunny, if crisp, October day, we were invited inside the showroom. Now, we’ve all been saturated with photographs of the current Bentley line-up and the Continental GT has effectively become the Golf of the jet-set. And the choice of footballers and their wives. But the reality is that while the Conti GT is more over-weight than Austin Powers’ Fat Bastard, the latest generation really does have incredible presence, discretion and self-assured restraint.
While the cigar walk group displayed the habitual cool around the showroom floor, we displayed rather less when we were taken downstairs to the “stock room”. Trust us: you’ve rarely seen a room stocked with goods like these, collectively worth millions to boot.
We most certainly spent a fair bit of time poking and prodding the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport that radiated white heat into the cool room. As a reminder, the Veyron SS sported an improved aerodynamics kit and 1,200 horsepower to blow it’s way to a 431.072 km/h top speed, making it the fastest road car in production. But the SS, uh, is electronically limited to 415.07 km/h to prevent the tyres from disintegrating. Yeah…
In truth, the Bugatti ultimately failed to resonate with us, being mostly an incredibly expensive and self-indulgent excuse for Ferdinand Piech to give two one-finger salutes to other supercar manufacturers. So, we moved on to the remainder of the stock.
And to our great surprise we found that the Germans are truly able to channel the mad English gent with combusting hair and pants. How? Through the Bentley Continental Supersports, the fastest and most powerful Bentley ever made.
Seriously, this car has to be seen to be believed. It’s utterly preposterous: a dedicated two-seater with 621horsepower, 0-100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and 329 km/h top speed. And if that didn’t have you howling and peeing all at once, the Supersports has been pitched as reaffirming Bentley’s environmental commitment being the first of its model range capable of running on both petrol and biofuel, pioneering the use of FlexFuel technology in the luxury sector.
We really couldn’t care less about the ludicrousness of the above given we’re utterly sold on this particular model that projected enough character, grit and insanity to outdo a Bugatti Veyron down there in Jack Barclay’s showroom.
Jack Barclay launched his business stating: “Service after Sale”. We only wish we could could afford the latter in order to be able to taste the former…
A visit to Jack Barclay’s stock room of big-engined delights
During a delightful cigar walk around London’s most prestigious neighborhoods, we were taken to Bentley dealer Jack Barclay’s “stock room”. A place car enthusiasts won’t ever forget…
