Weather Morning: 9°c Sunny spells Afternoon: 10°c Sunny spells

News

£117,000 Bentley Continental, minus its wheels
Going nowhere: £117,000 Bentley Continental, minus its wheels

Bentley shock as wheel thieves do the Continental

Evening Standard
9 Sep 2008


For the proud owner of a new £117,000 car, there could be few worse ways to start the day.

Both the owner and the maker of this Bentley Continental were left close to disbelief after thieves stole its tyres and alloy wheels - worth several thousand pounds - leaving it perched on bricks.

The victim spent several minutes yesterday morning walking around his car before calling for help. A short time later, a fitter from Bentley arrived to replace the stolen wheels.

The car was parked on the corner of Holland Park and Abbotsbury Road. One member of the Bentley Owners Club said: "I've never heard of anything like this before, you would have thought the wheel locking nuts would have done their job."

A spokesman for Bentley said: "The wheels are so well protected most people wouldn't be able to get the dust covers off so they would have to be exceptionally skilled. Even if you get down to the locking bolts there is a special key code.

"Our technical team believes this must have been an exceptional set of circumstances or they got lucky or took a very long time."

Reader views (5)

 Add your view

Oh dear Lucien - i presume you do not drive - or own anything made of iron/steel? If you did, you would be aware that rust forms in a couple of hours - get your steel wok wet, and leave it overnight to prove it! The condensation overnight forms iron oxide on the discs, which rubs off with the first application of the brakes>

- Gary, wycombe, 09/09/2008 20:17
Report abuse

He clearly has not driven the car for months judging by the rusting brakes so he deserves to have his wheels stolen.

- Lucian Meynell, London, 09/09/2008 16:38
Report abuse

Sorry - I reckon it was another Bentley owner who had a special key - that darn Credit Crunch!

- Sandra, London, 09/09/2008 14:09
Report abuse

Seems like this is more common than you think ...

Perhaps there's a black market in stolen Bentley alloys? No doubt they are set to appear on a Citroen Saxo 1.1 with blacked out windows, drainpipe exhaust and more candle power than horsepower.

- Whitdawg, UK., 09/09/2008 14:09
Report abuse

Looks like the scousers are teaching the Londoners how to beat the credit crunch.

- Terry C, Surrey, 09/09/2008 12:51
Report abuse


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

 

  • Riot axeman terror at McDonald's Axe man A rioter who terrorised diners with an axe at McDonald's has been jailed for five years and three months - one of the toughest sentences for...
  • Payout of £600,000 for witness put at risk by Met and CPS Scotland Yard A teenage court witness was given a £600,000 payout by the Crown Prosecution Service and Metropolitan Police after he was put at risk, it...
  • MPs to visit Falklands for military inspection HMS Dauntless MPs are to visit the Falklands amid heightened tension between Britain and Argentina
  • Make 'death trap' junctions safer for cyclists, demands university mourning three Ellie Carey A university that saw two students and a member of staff killed cycling in London last year has accused Boris Johnson of failing to act...
  • David Cameron launches new crackdown on binge drinking Supermarket alcohol display David Cameron will today vow to take on the "scandal" of public drunkenness and alcohol abuse that costs the NHS £2.7 billion a year
  • Unemployment rate hits 16-year high Job Centre unemployment The UK's unemployment rate increased to a 16-year high today after another rise in the jobless total. The figure jumped by 48,000 in the...
  • Bank to reveal inflation forecast Mervyn King The Bank of England is to give a clearer insight into how deep it expects the current downturn in the economy to sink
  • RAF airman shot in Afghanistan was 'shining star' Tomlin An RAF airman who died after being shot while on patrol in Afghanistan was a "true hero and shining star", his family said
  • Osborne defends his cuts strategy as inflation falls George Osborne Chancellor George Osborne defended his economic strategy as a fall in inflation finally brought mild relief to some from the tight squeeze...
  • We're the Cockney rhyming gang: Poetry coaching given to Tower Hamlets pupils Bonner Primary School Hundreds of schoolchildren who had never been inside a theatre have been coached to write and perform their own poetry on stage
  •  

    Don't Miss
    • London Gateway

      Supersize superport: London Gateway

      London Gateway, the £1.5bn container port under construction on the Thames at Thurrock, will have capacity to unload six of the world's largest ships at one time and have as much impact on the capital as a new airport or half a dozen Westfield shopping centres
    • Chris Powell interview

      Chris Powell: racist abuse between players was accepted in my day

      Exclusive: After high-profile allegations this season, Charlton's manager is pleased the issue is now being addressed but says the authorities still have plenty of work to do