Bentley Turbo RL Empress II - the rare luxury coupé from Hooper

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Bentley Turbo RL Empress II - the rare luxury coupé from Hooper

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Created on November 30, 2018

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Robin Adams - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Bentley Media

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Rolls-Royce Heritage / Rolls-Royce Pressedienst

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RR Press Club

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Bruno von Rotz

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Archiv

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Bentley Turbo RL Empress II (1991) - individually bodied coupé by Hooper

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - slanted headlights

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - elegance at second glance

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - long wheelbase, only two doors

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - independent coupé bodywork

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - independent two-door coupé from the coachbuilder

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - one of the most expensive cars you could buy in the 1980s

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - Cockpit in typical Bentley style

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - View of the interior

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - plenty of space in the back seat

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - Speedometer with mileage and kilometer indication

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - built-in equalizer

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - of course with a bar between the rear seats

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - fold-down tables like in the fifties

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - elegantly equipped center console

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - carefully equipped

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - the V8 engine with turbocharger

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - Forced ventilation of the eight-cylinder immediately visible

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - sporty front design

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - spoked wheels, unusual in the nineties

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - the coachbuilder left his details several times

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - Bentley-B on the window surrounds

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - independent vehicle designation

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - a coachbuilder with tradition

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Bentley Empress II (1991) - carefully lined trunk with CD changer

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Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost 40/50 HP (1915) - with bodywork by Hooper

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Rolls-Royce Phantom II - with bodywork by Hooper ,first owner Emir of Khaipur

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Bentley Mark VI 2-Door Saloon Mark VI, Hooper & Co. Ltd (1952) - with specially shaped angular roof structure

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Bentley R-Type Continental (1956) - perhaps one of the role models for Hooper's Empress II

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Bentley Mulsanne Turbo (1982) - at the 1982 Geneva Motor Show - to show tradition, Bentley placed an old 1929 Blower Bentley next to the new turbo engine

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Daimler Empress (1971) - Representative vehicle with Hooper bodywork, seen at the London Motor Show 1971

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Daimler Regency Mk1 (1953) - Hooper Empress Saloon - Classic-Gala Schwetzingen 2017

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Bentley Turbo R (1996) - dynamic elegance

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Bentley Turbo Brooklands (1992) - with racetrack background

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Rolls-Royce Camargue (1983) - with additional bodywork by Hooper - at the 1983 Geneva Motor Show

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Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit Hooper (1985) - the famous RR special coachbuilder is back - Geneva Motor Show 1985

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Bentley Turbo RL Empress II Hooper (1988) - one of the most expensive cars in the world, with special bodywork by Hooper

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Rolls-Royce Hooper State Limousine (1986) - a Rolls for over half a million Swiss francs - Geneva Motor Show 1986

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Summary

The golden age of the individual construction of special bodies ended sometime in the sixties, but the Hooper company surprised everyone in the mid-eighties with new variants of Rolls-Royce and Bentley models. One of these was the Empress II, which was based on the Bentley Turbo RL. Five examples were built, one of which is portrayed in this report.

This article contains the following chapters

Almost two hundred years of history
Only Bentley and Rolls-Royce
The long Turbo R as the basis
Whispering turbo
The most expensive car in the world
With all the comforts
A rarity that has remained
And Hooper?
Further information

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the fifties, or at the latest in the sixties, the golden years of handcrafted coachbuilding were coming to an end. One company after another went out of business or concentrated on accident repairs, restorations or commercial vehicle conversions. So it was all the more surprising in the 1980s to see the British company Hooper making a big appearance at the world's motor shows and presenting new creations. The Hooper company was founded as early as 1807, and in 1904 a car was dressed for the first time, a Daimler for King Edward VII. In 1909, a collaboration with Rolls-Royce was agreed. A "show room" was set up on fashionable St. James Street in London and monarchs from all over the world had their cars tailored by Hooper.

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