Vintages to savour

1:20pm Thursday 28th September 2006

A BEAN is something tasty to tempt motor-heads around the world - and James Dennison has a rare vintage to savour.

James is the wheels man for Leominster auctioneers Brightwells and the Bean is one of the biggest attractions at its classic car auction next Wednesday.

Not only is it one of the few left of its kind, it is also in showroom condition - kept that way by family of the man who made it and owned it.

James was amazed to find a Bean just a few miles drive away in Cradley. It belonged to Stephen Webb, grandson of John "Jack" Harper Bean, the Black Country engineering entrepreneur whose dream of being Britain's Henry Ford was crushed by the stock market crash of the 1920s.

Light, nimble, and capable of a whopping' 50mph from a four-cylinder valve engine, the Bean was going to give Britain a mass production easy-buy car of its own.

But by 1929 the Bean had been canned through a combination of bad luck, bad business, and that calamitous crash. Jack had already gone off to pursue other interests in the engineering world.

Few of the 17,000 Beans counted out of their Tipton factory survive. One was eventually bought by Jack himself - the 1922 Bean 11.9 four-seat open tourer that has stayed with his family since the 1960s.

Now they've decided to sell.

"This is a rare and important car that would make a fascinating addition to any collection," said James.

THE Bean is one of an exotic collection of cars and motorcycles from every decade of the 20th century on sale at the auction.

Among other top lots are: A 1988 Bentley 8 once owned by Terry Wogan, the second slowest celebrity ever in Top Gear's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment.

"So it's safe to assume that it hasn't been thrashed," said James.

The 1991 Nissan Figaro that belonged to rock legend Eric Clapton. Kept as part of his private collection, Clapton was regularly driving the Figaro around London in the 1990s.

An immaculate 1929 Ford Model A Coupe that purportedly once cruised the sweltering streets of prohibition era Miami as the wheels for a notorious gangster.

"It's a bit of a mystery this one. A Welsh chap bought it in America for his private collection.

A 1911 Adler and a 160mph 1973 Aston Martin V8.

A Manx Norton 500cc TT racing motorcycle from the 1950s and a 250cc Ariel Leader from 1960 with seven miles on the clock.

A 1924 Lea Francis F-Type Tourer though to be the only surviving example in the world, and an imposing Armstrong-Siddeley limousine from 1931 - one of just three ever made.

The auction takes place at the Brightwells yard, Easters Court, Leominster.