Discussion
The BDC has about 3500 members mostly in the UK, but with about 30% dotted around South Africa, Australia, NZ and America. There is a heavy bias towards pre-1950 cars, but I have never felt uncomfortable as a GT owner. Rather the reverse - many old codgers driving 80 year old cars are fed up with getting soaked, and GTs are now affordable toys, especially if you are selling a vintage 3 litre for £300,000. They are interested in the GT and want to know all about it. So no fear of being excluded if you have a modern Bentley. There are plenty of members with Arnage, Turbo R and Mulsanne derivatives.
The club is divided into regions for organising social events. I am a committee member for the Mid West region, which stretches from Hampshire to Cardigan. We have a Welsh rally every May, and an outing every month, often to places that Joe Public can't get in to. I am organising a June rally to South West Ireland - 10 cars so far, but room for a few more. Cost £2,600 per car with 2 people in it. The Club also runs events organised centrally - Annual Concours d'Elegance, Bentley Driving Days (factory demonstrators provided), Continental rallies - and this year tours of both South Africa and NZ. So there is plenty going on.
We have made many good friends in the 10 years that we have been members, and BDC members around the world are always eager to meet you on your travels. We are not as stuck up as some other single marque car clubs. Club HQ is eager to have drivers of moderns because old members are increasingly falling off their perches, and we must maintain numbers to be viable.
E-mail the club from their web site, and get a membership pack. You'll not regret it. Come to a local event or lunch, and meet a few of us before you part with your money - it's only about a hundred quid a year.
Best wishes,
David.
The club is divided into regions for organising social events. I am a committee member for the Mid West region, which stretches from Hampshire to Cardigan. We have a Welsh rally every May, and an outing every month, often to places that Joe Public can't get in to. I am organising a June rally to South West Ireland - 10 cars so far, but room for a few more. Cost £2,600 per car with 2 people in it. The Club also runs events organised centrally - Annual Concours d'Elegance, Bentley Driving Days (factory demonstrators provided), Continental rallies - and this year tours of both South Africa and NZ. So there is plenty going on.
We have made many good friends in the 10 years that we have been members, and BDC members around the world are always eager to meet you on your travels. We are not as stuck up as some other single marque car clubs. Club HQ is eager to have drivers of moderns because old members are increasingly falling off their perches, and we must maintain numbers to be viable.
E-mail the club from their web site, and get a membership pack. You'll not regret it. Come to a local event or lunch, and meet a few of us before you part with your money - it's only about a hundred quid a year.
Best wishes,
David.
I guess the average age of the UK membership is somewhere north of 60. After all, the number of 'youngsters' that can afford to get into Bentleys are few. Some younger ones have been lucky enough to inherit their car from their father, but with 3 litres costing at least £150,000 you have to be pretty enthusiastic to commit that sort of dosh. The relatively low price of moderns (poste Mulsanne) does allow less of a financial outlay that is affordable to younger members. Average age of owners might be lower in India and China, where younger entrepreneurs want to demonstrate their success.
So yes, the BDC does have an age problem in that a large proportion of the members are likely to pop off without a matching number of new members. Quite when this will happen is a question for the actuaries. Of course, if we can recruit enough newbies from the increasing number of modern Mulsanne and GT buyers, the problem might be avoided.
So yes, the BDC does have an age problem in that a large proportion of the members are likely to pop off without a matching number of new members. Quite when this will happen is a question for the actuaries. Of course, if we can recruit enough newbies from the increasing number of modern Mulsanne and GT buyers, the problem might be avoided.
I'm a BDC member and I've just received the Feb 2013 issue of the Review - it's not a bad read...but the Mulsanne Turbo is the most modern car featured...there does tend to be more of a focus on WO cars.
Haven't made it to a BDC meet for a while, but last time I did everyone was friendly and welcoming, although I was probably 20 years younger than most of the group.
Andy
Haven't made it to a BDC meet for a while, but last time I did everyone was friendly and welcoming, although I was probably 20 years younger than most of the group.
Andy
Andy,
Cheers! Just got my copy of The Review last night as well and had an enjoyable read of that Mulsanne Turbo article and was quite frankly surprised they even featured it.
Damn, air mail must be pretty fast for a guy in Cincinnati, Ohio to be getting his magazine the same day as someone in Blighty, lol!
bergxu said:
Andy,
Cheers! Just got my copy of The Review last night as well and had an enjoyable read of that Mulsanne Turbo article and was quite frankly surprised they even featured it.
Damn, air mail must be pretty fast for a guy in Cincinnati, Ohio to be getting his magazine the same day as someone in Blighty, lol!
I'm based in Tokyo, so airmail delivery for me too...Cheers! Just got my copy of The Review last night as well and had an enjoyable read of that Mulsanne Turbo article and was quite frankly surprised they even featured it.
Damn, air mail must be pretty fast for a guy in Cincinnati, Ohio to be getting his magazine the same day as someone in Blighty, lol!
Im a member of both RREC and BDC and both clubs have there advantages and disadvantages without going to a meeting as you would be unable to make a decision. There are some fantastic rallies, tours and events. The club is very much what you want it to be and what you want to get out of it depending on if your idea of fun is and I'm still under 40!
stats007 said:
Any Bentley Drivers Club members here? Is it worth joining if you're an Arnage owner? Any decent events etc? I'll probably be going to LeMans for example if anyone else fancies it?
Yes, yes, yes and (personally) no (to LeMans - at least, not this year).Arnages are a tad under-represented in my neck of the woods (Western Region), though we did have a recent one at our last event (http://bdc.willowby.co.uk will get you there) and I am sure I am not alone in wanting to see a few more.
Which model do you have?
BDC is a drivers' club and I have found a warm welcome with a "modern" (Conti R).
V8 FOU said:
Interesting.
I am thinking of buying a Mk6 special - what is the general attitude to specials?
IIRC the MKVI makes up the biggest single group amongst the membership, the MKVI is a much respected car and is the mainstay of the Clubs racing scene along with the Vintage cars. The BDC is primarily for Vintage Bentleys, followed by MKVI Specials, although all Bentleys are of course welcome.I am thinking of buying a Mk6 special - what is the general attitude to specials?
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