Beaulieu Bluebird

When you spend three days at the annual Beaulieu Autojumble, the three fields are mostly filled with men and their beloved motoring stuff. So it was a refreshing surprise to come across Jackie sitting in the Napier-Campbell Bluebird Special which had only recently emerged from the workshop of Lord Lorne Jacobs.

Jackie is no stranger to big cars with big engines because her friend Mike Vardy owns this Isotta-Fraschini-Fiat whose engine is a mere 16½ litres compared with the Napier Campbell’s 22.3 litres from its (earliest known) Sea Lion W12 cylinder engine. I had recently photographed the Napier-Campbell elsewhere,  but these pictures were more fun as can be seen as Jackie climbed out of her new favourite car.

(text and photographs Robin Batchelor)