Chassis 160 owned by Ashley Havinden in the 1920s & 30s

"The car has been returned to its original number plate XM 6222. It was owned in the 1920s and again in the 30s by Ashley Havinden (the designer of the famous WW2 poster "Keep Calm and Carry On"). Ashley was the 1920s and 30s Art Deco car poster designer best known for his iconic BP and Chrysler campaigns. All his designs were done with his friend G H Saxon "Bingy" Mills who bought the car from him in the 20s and then sold it back to him.

 

Ashley mentions his beloved "second-hand 3-litre Bentley" in his autobiograhical introduction to the 1970 book "Advertising and the Motorcar". Indeed he liked it so much he pranged it in 1933 and took it back to Bentley Motors for some minor accident repair. You can clearly see the inspiration the car had on his poster art in his 1930s BP campaign (above). The 3 litre still carries its original Park Ward Tourer body and now resides in California."

 

The 3-litre was a clear inspiration for owner Ashley Havinden’s iconic 1930s BP campaign.
Ashley Havinden owned the 3-litre in the 20s and 30s at a time when he was designing his iconic art deco posters (for BP above).

Tony Mitchell driving chassis 160 at Silverstone in 1966
(Among the owners listed in the BDC records, Anthony Roy Mitchell was the owner of chassis 160 in 1958 and then again in 1965.)

 

Chassis 160 arrives in San Francisco in 2016