Crowd-pleasing car show Rolls into Leeds

Vintage vehicles on display at the 36th Rolls-Royce Rally, Harewood House.

Enthusiasts gathered at Harewood House for a gleaming showcase of the best of British engineering and design, with 210 Rolls Royces and Bentleys on display.

The event was organised by the North of England branch of the Rolls Royce Enthusiasts’ Club, which has 350 members in Yorkshire alone, and 10,000 worldwide,

Mike Blunsom, chairman of the organising committee, explained the oldest car at the event was a 1923 20 horsepower Rolls Royce.

Visitors check under the bonnet of a 1955 Bentley R Type.

Asked why the cars have such an enduring appeal, Mr Blunsom said: “It’s the Best of British - a worldwide standard.

“I think it’s the superb engineering and design of these cars - they’re timeless.

“They say that over 50 per cent of the Rolls Royce cars that have ever been built are still on the road. And quite a few are here today.

“The older cars, even an amateur can do work on them, as long as he has the perseverance to actually do the work.”

Liz Brown from Norton, Doncaster, with her 1928 Rolls-Royce 20HP Tourer.

The first Rolls Royce was built in 1907, after Sir Henry Royce and Charles Rolls formed a partnership a few years earlier.

Mr Blunsom said that the market for buying Rolls Royce and Bentley cars is currently “fantastic”, but more so abroad than at home.

“Both of them are having record sales around the world, China being one of the big markets,” he said.

The club is on a drive to increase its membership, especially among younger motoring fans.

Visit www.rrec-northeast.co.uk/index.html for details.