Hemmings Road Tour

 

Vintage Fashion Show

The Lake Mirror Classic’s Vintage Fashion Show was so popular at last year’s event that it is “back with style” again as part of the Concours d’Elegance activities on Saturday. Participants in period dress will be judged with their vehicle and finalists will be invited to the amphitheater for a Red Carpet award presentation. Come in period dress, or even as your favorite celebrity and compete with others to see how accurate you can be. It’s always a step back in time at the Lake Mirror Classic’s Vintage Fashion Show.

Please let us know if you intend to show up in pre-1972 period costume so we can include you in the judging, click here to email us now.

 

The “Eddie Hall Bentley” to appear at Lake Mirror Classic

BY Kurt Ernst Oct 15th, 2015

As if mountaineering and bobsledding weren’t dangerous enough hobbies, Eddie Hall also had a passion for
automobile racing. In 1950, Hall entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans with his 1933 Bentley 4 ¼-Liter, officially
with co-driver Tom Clarke on his team. The event must have been a letdown for Clarke, as Hall spent the
entire 24 hours behind the wheel, a feat no longer possible (and certainly ill-advised in 1950). This weekend,
the very Bentley campaigned by Hall at Le Mans, now part of The Revs Institute collection, will be displayed
at the Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival in Lakeland, Florida.

Rolls-Royce, parent to Bentley after a 1931 buyout, never intended its Flying B brand to be raced. Hall
had other ideas, and first used his 1933 Bentley 3 ½-Liter as a reconnaissance car in practice for the
Mille Miglia. The experience convinced him of the car’s potential, and Hall successfully lobbied Rolls-Royce
to produce an engine suitable for competition. In 1934 and 1935, Hall ran the car in the Royal Automobile
Club’s Tourist Trophy race at the Ards Circuit in Northern Ireland, but finished second both years due to
handicapping rules.

For 1936, Rolls-Royce upped the ante by providing a 4 ¼-liter engine, rated at an impressive
163 horsepower. Coachbuilder Offord & Sons crafted a lightweight, streamlined body of aluminum, and
the net result was a record average speed in the Tourist Trophy of 80.81 MPH. Despite this,
handicapping rules again left Hall in second place, but there would be no rematch as the race was
cancelled after the 1936 running.

Despite this disappointment, the Bentley never lost a prewar race in its class. By all accounts, the car
shouldn’t have been competitive at Le Mans in 1950; while the war years had frozen automobile
development, the Bentley was, by then, a 17-year old racing car. Against newer machines with
factory backing, Hall, driving the entire event on his own, still managed to finish in eighth place overall,
a superhuman feat by anyone’s standards.
The 2015 Lake Mirror Classic Auto Festival takes place in Lakeland, Florida, from October 16 – 18.
For more information, visit LakeMirrorClassic.com.

- See more at: The ?Eddie Hall Bentley? to appear at Lake Mirror Classic | Hemmings Daily