Bentley restored after owned by Prince of Iraq and stolen by Saddam Hussein - shown at Pebble Beach

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BENTLEY 1958 S1 Continental (BC25LDJ)
coachwork by Park Ward & Co. Ltd.
RESTORATION BY VANTAGE MOTOR WORKS, INC. FOR
JAMES GEORGE 2017

This drophead coupé example (BC25LDJ) was bodied by Park Ward, one of only 31 left-hand drive examples erected to their design number 700.
A History of the 1958 Bentley S1 Continental (BC25LDJ) Drophead Coupé Coachwork by Park Ward & Co. Ltd.

Company records show that this car was ordered through Jack Barclay Ltd. in London, and delivered in March 1958 to its first owner: H.R.H. Crown Prince of Iraq. Of all the R-Type, S1, S2 and S3 Bentley Continentals produced, this was the only one delivered new to Iraq. It is also the only Bentley S Continental convertible delivered new to royalty. Finished in metallic silver with dark blue hides, this left- hand drive example had many options, including power steering. The prince, ‘Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz, was a cousin and brother-in-law of Ghazi of Iraq, and served as Regent for Faisal II until he came of age to be king. He held the title of Crown Prince of Iraq from 1943.

Unfortunately, soon after the car was delivered on March 5, 1958, the prince lost his life in the military coup d’état on July 14th.

The car was not seen in public until it was acquired in 1968 by Mr. Janabi, a businessman residing in Baghdad, and car was titled in his name until 2014.

On the eve of Mr. Janabi’s son Omar’s wedding, the car was painted white and used as the nuptial vehicle. Shortly thereafter, the car appeared in a movie called “King Ghazi of Iraq” filmed in 1992 in Baghdad.

Not long after the movie aired, representatives of Saddam Hussein visited Mr. Janabi to acquire the car. After repeated refusals to sell it, the car was taken. It was well known that Saddam and his sons Uday and Qsay collected premium automobiles. The car was painted again, this time in a two-tone silver and blue.

After the fall of the regime, the car was vandalized—it was caught-up in the wave of destruction and theft that gripped the country. Mr. Janabi learned from the Iraqi licensing office that the car was still registered in his name and his plate number: 36707. With this, he was able to prove to the occupying U.S. military that the car was his, and he gained access to the car, only to find extensive damage to the car: smashed windows and dashboard, missing seats, but in stark contrast, the engine and mechanical parts were nearly complete.

Aside from its appearance in an Iraqi film more than 20 years ago, the car has not been seen at any show or event—it had not left Iraqi since it was first delivered. Though Mr. Janabi hoped that the car could be resurrected, it was not to be. Finally the car was sold and exported, making its way through Canada, until it was acquired by its current owner: Mr. James George of Mount Clemens, Michigan.

In 2016 Mr. George purchased BC25LDJ and commissioned Vantage Motor Works of North Miami, Florida, to execute a complete restoration of the car. Its first showing in any concours will be at the 2017 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

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