Bentley 3-4½-Litre Tourer Speed Model by Vanden Plas 1926, Inglaterra

 

Bentley 3-4½-Litre Tourer Speed Model by Vanden Plas 1926, Inglaterra
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Bentley chassis DE1212 was first registered in July 1926 with the number HU 6858 and fitted with aluminum-skinned tourer coachwork by Vanden Plas. A Short Chassis 3-Litre Speed Model, this Bentley spent its early years in London, England, originally under the ownership of a Mr. C. Culverwell. In 1933 the car was sold to J. Goodbody, and over the next several years a large amount of service work was performed including re-boring the engine in 1935. In 1937, the cylinder block and piston rings were sent to J. Rugg & Son for additional work; by this point, the Bentley was owned by V.H. Paull of Earls Court.
After the war, Major Constandorus is listed as the owner registered with the Bentley Drivers Club, and over the next decade a handful of individuals would come to possess DE1212. Then in 1963, Chris Pack would purchase the car and remain the single owner for the next 45 years. It was his decision in 1988 to convert the engine to 4½-Litre displacement after the car suffered an engine failure during a drive. In order to complete the project, a 3-Litre crank case stamped "AX1656" was sourced, and a crankshaft, camshaft, and rods were ordered from Phoenix. A 4½-Litre block, valve chest, and rocker boxes were obtained via BDC Spares. Beginning in 1999, DE1212 received a major refurbishment, and the body was taken off. Both the engine and gearbox were taken apart and rebuilt, with the former now featuring a 6.0:1 compression ratio.
Dr. Alasdair Ernslie purchased the Bentley in 2005, and over the course of his ownership until 2013, further maintenance was performed. This includes the fitting of a 16-gallon 4½-Litre fuel tank, an engine rebuild in 2008, a brake and spring overhaul in 2009, and new shock absorbers in 2010. In June 2014, DE1212 entered the collection of the current owner and was shown that September at the prestigious Concours of Elegance at Hampton Court Place. Afterwards, the Bentley was further improved with £47,520 of service work via the highly respected W.O. Bentley specialists N.D.R. Ltd in the United Kingdom. A Laycock Engineering (J-Type) electric overdrive was fitted, along with two electric fuel pumps and a new steering box. The car also received a Le-Mans style folding windscreen and a set of Blockley 21-inch tires.
A wonderful example of a W.O. Bentley, this 1926 3-4½-Litre Speed Model features iconic Vanden Plas tourer coachwork, known ownership history, and serious performance upgrades made popular in post-war UK Bentley circles, giving the great combination of nimble handling with the later, more powerful engine. These cars represent some of the finest pre-war automobiles ever built and are a must-have for any true driving enthusiast. The sale of DE1212 represents a wonderful opportunity for anyone looking to experience proper vintage motoring.

Bentley 8-Litre Saloon by H.J. Mulliner 1932, Inglaterra

Bentley 8-Litre Saloon by H.J. Mulliner 1932, Inglaterra
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One of the finest surviving examples of the 8-Litre Bentley, chassis number YX5110 was built on the 156-inch-wheelbase chassis and mounted with an elegant, well-proportioned saloon body by H.J. Mulliner. As one of the final 25 cars produced, it was finished to the ultimate, most evolved specification, with a modified, stronger crankcase; a higher compression ratio; and a Mintex crankshaft damper.
The car was delivered in June 1932 by the famous Jack Barclay dealership to H.W. Reginald Room of Bromley, Kent, for whom it was registered as GY 3903. Records of service held by the Bentley Drivers Club, as well as the W.O. Bentley Memorial Foundation’s original Kingsbury service ledger, copies of both of which are in the file, indicate that the 8-Litre was well-maintained through Mr. Room’s ownership by Bentley Motors and its agents, including constant minor adjustments between 1932 and 1934, an overhaul of the engine in 1934, and replacement of the headlamps following an obviously minor incident in 1936. It was last serviced for Mr. Room on 28 July 1938, with the BDC records noting that he was “clearly a fastidious owner.”
In 1940 the car was sold by Mr. Roof to the second owner, H.W. Poultney, also of Bromley, who laid it up through the war years, after which it was used occasionally on special occasions. In 1961 he disassembled it for a planned restoration. This was not undertaken in his lifetime, and the Bentley’s components remained carefully packed away in his workshop at the time of his passing in the early 1960s. The Poultney heirs sold the 8-Litre in May 1969 to Keith Holland, and it was soon acquired in September 1970 by Peter Agg, the celebrated British businessman known as the onetime manufacturer of Lambretta scooters and Trojan and Elva automobiles, owner of the Trojan Formula One team, and as an avid collector of vintage sporting automobiles. Remarkably, a letter in the file indicates that despite the fact that the car had been disassembled by Mr. Poultney, all its parts remained intact, down to all of the original tools, save only the windshield wiper motor!
Mr. Agg commissioned his own staff at Lambretta Concessionaires to restore the Bentley. Correspondence between the Lambretta facilities and various suppliers is on file, as are comprehensive invoices for parts and services throughout the restoration, including the sourcing of correct Connolly hides and a new radiator with an interleafed core, and numerous photographs of work underway. The restored 8-Litre was the subject of a highly detailed article published in the November 1974 issue of Thoroughbred & Classic Cars magazine, seen in John Bolster’s 1974 book The Upper Crust, and shown at Bentley Drivers Club and other meetings throughout the United Kingdom. It was, notably, twice winner in its class at the annual BDC concours at Kensington Gardens.
Longtime BDC member J.D. “Jimmy” Metcalf would eventually acquire the car from Mr. Agg in 1979 and kept it for 28 years. Information and invoices in the file note that Mr. Metcalf continued to keep up the car to a fine standard, including having the engine overhauled in 1988 and the gearbox, brakes, and wheels all rebuilt in 1994. In 2004 the car was exhibited at Techno Classica Essen, at which it was presented, jewel-like, in a transparent glass box!
In 2007, Mr. Metcalf sold the Bentley to the noted British collector and vintage racer, Jonathan Turner, who in turn passed it to a prominent German enthusiast in 2010. Prior to its acquisition by the current owner, only the ninth since new, chassis number YX5110 was professionally refinished in this attractive green and black livery, while retaining the charming upholstery of its prior restoration. It retains its numbers-matching engine and gearbox per factory records, as well as the original coachwork down to the body number stamping in the floorboards and the chassis number stamping visible in the hood hinge. Further, the car is accompanied by the restored original tool kit in the boot, as well as a thoroughly impressive history file including copies of aforementioned articles and thorough invoices, a copy of its buff UK registration logbook, and a further maintenance diary kept by Mr. Metcalf.
Ideal for any number of Bentley events and vintage rallies the world over, this fine 8-Litre reminds its driver exactly why it was considered one of the finest automobiles in the world in its era. No better original closed 8-Litre can be found.

Bentley Speed Six Le Mans Tourer 1930, Inglaterra

Bentley Speed Six Le Mans Tourer 1930, Inglaterra
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Created at the urging of Bentley Motors chairman Woolf Barnato, the Speed Six was the sportier derivative of the massive and potent 6½-Litre. Thanks to a thorough host of mechanical upgrades, the model exhibits performance above and beyond its sibling by incredible measure.
In fact, Speed Sixes proved so dominant at Le Mans in 1929 that they were instructed to slow their pace to touring speed for the final few hours on route to victory. They returned to Le Mans in 1930, repeating the same feat down to the “slow finish”, marking Bentley’s fourth consecutive victory at the world’s greatest endurance race. Mechanical updates continued over the model’s production, and by late 1930 the Speed Six’s engine had been uprated to 180 brake horsepower.
Chassis configured very similarly to the Le Mans cars were released to private owners and fitted with remarkable custom coachwork. Today, a Le Mans-specification Speed Six is inarguably one of the most desirable of all pre-war Bentleys.
As documented by the extensive research of marque expert Dr. Clare Hay (full report on file), this exceptional 1930 Speed Six was originally configured as a Weymann Saloon by H.J. Mulliner for display on Bentley’s stand at the Olympia Motor Show on 18 October 1929. After its debut, chassis SB2751 was subsequently sold new to Walter Gordon Sykes via dealer Jack Barclay and registered as “GK 2472” in December 1930. The car then passed through three interceding owners before entering the stable of William Nicholson in 1954, with whom it would remain for the next 51 years.
Following the passing of Mr. Nicholson in 1995, the car was rebodied with the current Le Mans Tourer specification body. Per Hay’s inspection, the car’s current single-port engine remains thoroughly original and correct, though the crankcase “FW2603” is a replacement sourced from an earlier 6½-Litre. Other than the differential nose piece, and the front axle, which was originally fitted to a Blower Bentley, this Bentley remains largely mechanically original throughout.