Knight Rider, Meet Robin Leach.

Sadly, this was the last photoshoot James Pickett Photography ever did for Modified Luxury & Exotics Magazine, two months after the shoot, Mod L&E sold out of its last issue, forever. Modified Luxury & Exotics was a spin-off of the popular import magazine, Modifed. Both Magazines were members of the Modified Automotive Group, under the Verticlescope publishing umbrella started by Canadian native, Rob Laidlaw.

Throughout my travels I have heard that Mod L&E was a favorite amongst the upper echelon exotic car community. It was after all, the only exotic magazine tailoring to speed more than prestige. Rob Laidlaw is another thing all together, an inspiration to entrepreneurs that knew his story. Factual confirmation cannot be attained at this time, but the story states that Rob began with a computer in a closet when he started Best Hosting, which later funded Modified Magazine, and the Modified Group.

The Modified Group grew to be a superpower in the aftermarket automotive industry, in just a few short years, overshadowing magazines that have been around for nearly 20 years. Knowing that its advertising and readership had suffered, Primedia purchased the group shortly before selling their entire automotive division off to Source Interlink. In their years of wisdom as investment bankers, and no experience as publishers, the people at Source Interlink have decided to cut the pages on what is left of its most popular automotive titles and discontinue others. One of the discontinued titles was Modified Luxury & Exotics. The magazine will truly be missed by its community of readers, and those of us that had the pleasure of working with the staff.

On with the vehicle, forgive me, the monster Bentley. This vehicle was constructed by Fabspeed Motorsports in Ambler Pennsylvania. There isnt much you have to say about this car, it is one of the most beautiful Continental GT’s I have ever had the pleasure of seeing, and if I must say something… “Look at the dyno chart.” (Hope you didn’t miss where I said this is a Bentley.)

If you have never read a dyno chart,it says 510.73 HP and 739.87 ft/lbs torque!

Not only is the floor spotless at Fabspeed, but the team is flawless as well. These people aren’t mechanics, they aren’t gearheads, and they certainly aren’t shooting from the hip. Fabspeed is comprised of automotive artists, people that eat, sleep, and dream engineering, g-force, horsepower and style. (The floor truly is spotless, if you dropped a meatball sub, I would eat it and i’m not kidding.) There is one more noticeable thing at Fabspeed that most people will overlook, it is uncannily quiet while everyone is working. Not necessarily in a library sort of way, but more of a “working as a well oiled machine” sort of way. They work as a team and communicate as a team, it is a rarity and a pleasant sight. Why yell when the person you need to speak to understands your hand signals?

yes, that is his reflection in the floor.

It is my understanding that the owner of this Bentley had not yet seen his car, at all, since its purchase. If memory serves me correct, it was purchased “sight unseen” and sent off to be modified. Someday I too aspire to buy a car over the phone with instructions to “make it crazy, and deliver it to me when complete.” (No, I don’t think that is how the conversation actually happened.)

It is truly difficult to write about this vehicle, maybe I am too close to it. Of the thousands of vehicles I have seen in my time as a car geek and a photographer, this is the only automobile that could be called my dream car. Time and time again, I have said the Mitsubishi Evolution X looks like a rattle snake in the grass ready to attack. The Bentley doesn’t have to hide, it nonchalantly crawls up to your face and says, “I dare you to try.”

An aftermarket module allows the car to be raised and lowered at will to compensate for various road conditions, not that you can feel even the smallest bump when a passenger. What can I even compare the ride to? A gyroscopic stabilized, turbocharged 12 cylinder water bed traveling on rails? Yes, that works.

It resembles liquid midnight when you see it roll by, like its own black hole absorbing light and sound as it travels past. A mesmerizing account of automotive engineering taking hold of your soul for a moment, just before slipping into infinity. Sounds like every mans description of “the one that got away”. In my case she is “the supermodel I will never date”.

Images © James H. Pickett
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