Apr 11, 2013
"Dear Robert, We are trying to contact Mr Rich Atwell of Fredericksberg, Texas about the above Bentley that we understand he has in his collection. We have tried to email and fax him several times via his office, but so far without success. We would be very grateful if you could make contact with him on our behalf.

Our club is trying to collect the history of the Bentleys that are in Australia, or have been here. There is no commercial purpose and we are not in the business of dealing in cars. At this stage we are just trying to fill in the gaps in our Register.

A previous owner, Mr Ron Bone of Melbourne, has been very helpful with photos and the earlier history, but the record came to a stop when he sold the car to Mr Atwell's late father in 1965.

We would be very keen to have the subsequent history. Does it have the same body? Color? Registration number? Recent photos? Any other details?

We have some earlier photos and details of the car that Mr Atwell might be interested in having."

Apr 29, 2013
"I could see that Atwell has quite a collection and had entered some of them at Pebbles and other high profile events. Do you recall if it still had the (not very attractive) two seater body it left Australia with and if it is now carrying a Texas registration plate? We really don't have any details of the car since it left here in 1965, which is a little strange since it's been sitting in a museum for almost 50 years.

We have an interesting newspaper clipping from the early 1960s, which I will try and scan for you. The quality might not be good enough to post on your site. It's a copy of a copy."

Phillip Schudmak

Photos from Atwell Collection, Kerrville, Texas in April, 2013 -- car owned by Richard Atwell. I knew Richard's father, Robert Atwell when he lived in Houston in the 1970s and when he owned this car and a 3 Litre Bentley.

26th Annual Meet of RROC at Dearborn, August 1977

"R. L. Atwell brought this striking 4½ litre Bentley (PB3541) from Texas. We didn't determine the coachbuilder. (Reich photo)" — From the article 'You Only Wear The Green Tag Once' by Hugh J. T. Young

I purchased this car from an English gentleman who had brought the car with him upon emigrating to Australia in the Fifties. The body had been modified from its original V.D.P. to the roadster version much earlier. Although it had a certain charm and was reasonably well executed I personally would have preferred the original V.D.P. The car was absolutely trouble-free and used by me as a daily driver.

The two men seated in the 4½-Litre are Formula One champions, Jack Brabham, and the late Bruce McLaren, a legacy of my earlier car racing days.

This car was sold to Mr. R. L. Atwell, Jr. The car was sea-freighted from Melbourne to Galveston around August/September 1965, the freight being arranged by Mr Atwell's own firm Coastal Transport Co Inc., Houston, Texas.