It’s possible that you’ve never been a dedicated follower of fashion, but if you’re even remotely interested in pop stars’ transport you might like need to get yourself along to Silverstone Auctions’ sale on 13 May. That’s when a 1960 Bentley S2 owned by The Kinks’ Ray Davies – now Sir Ray Davies – comes up for sale.
Remarkably, though he has owned the S2 since 1966, it’s thought that Sir Ray has never actually driven the car – which could be some sort of record in itself.
The Bentley has been in storage since the early 1990s, so it will need some restoration work before the new owner can take it out for a spin. As it stands it’s expected that the car will fetch between £25,000 and £30,000.
Surfing on a wave of success, Davies bought the Bentley ‘under duress’ despite not being able to drive. “I succumbed to the pressure and purchased a second hand Bentley from Hadleigh Green Garage in Barnet,” he says. “My then wife drove it on my behalf because I was unable to drive at the time.
“We lived in a little semi in Muswell Hill and the neighbours were in shock and awe when they saw this huge black Bentley drive up along the narrow shingle path to the house.
“We subsequently went on holiday in the Bentley to Cornwall, which was our family outing with my two daughters in the back with their buckets and spades.”
Kinks fans will certainly remember the tune Lola. The more genned up ones will also recall the follow-up to that, Apeman. That was written by Davies in the back of the Bentley on the aforementioned Cornish trip, using a Spanish guitar that he carried in the back, so a nice bit of musical heritage there.
The car accompanied Davies on a house move to Surrey in the 1970s, but outings were relatively rare as fans were a bit too keen to write all over it in lipstick.
