CollectorandrestorerMark reacted on my previous "Cars on the silver screen" contribution and mentioned the Brocolli Rolls Royce Silver Cloud in the James Bond movie A view to a kill.

Universal Hobbies made the following model:


What about the real car?
The late producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli of EON Productions owned a steel blue Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II, chassis #SAE553 registered CUB 1. This car appeared in the 4th Bond film, Thunderball; 007 played by Sean Connery, where it had only a minor role.



In A view to a kill of 1985, starring Roger Moore as 007, the same Silver Cloud is used again. But this time played a most significant role, being used by James Bond in scenes at Chantilly Castle in France, driven by his chauffeur Sir Godfrey Tibbet, played by Patrick Macnee of The Avengers TV series fame.





By now Broccoli's Silver Cloud II had been repainted Shell Grey and had reg # 354HYK, just like the model car above.


In a scene in the film the car is pushed into a pond with the intention of killing James Bond who is seated unconscious on the rear seat. To simulate his death to the villains, 007 stays on the bottom of the pond breathing air from a tire of the car.









In reality another car was pushed into the pond and although not officially confirmed, it is believed to be the Bentley S1, chassis # B287FD with a Rolls Royce radiator grille, fitted for the scene. In fact this Bentley was officially registered 354 HYK, the plates lent to Broccoli's Silver Cloud II for the film, and was also painted Shell Grey. The Bentley only differed from the Rolls Royce by its lack of Marchal parking/flashing lights on the centre pillars.



Broccoli's Silver Cloud II was displayed at the Bond in Motion exhibition, Covent Garden, London in September 2014, still Shell Grey but reunited with its original reg # CUB 1.

So what happened to the swimming Bentley?

It survived its swim as the DVLA details show a liability date of 1992, so it still existed 7 years after the movie.


DVLA details for 354 HYK (as Bentley) are:
Date of Liability 01 02 1992
Date of First Registration 17 11 1958


The reg# 354HYK is not of the 1958 period, but probably re-registered in the 1970's.


 


Oh by the way that man who walked the streets of London with his camera making pictures of Rolls Royce and Bentley cars also snapped the Broccoli car during one of his tours; it is in the book I  mentioned before.

That certainly looks like a Soho street narrow, dirty and lined with expensive cars. (Soho is where all the 'film' people and wannabe's congregate.)