Read article - 2019: The year ahead of the Bentley centenary

First International Bentley 8 Litre Rally, June 18-25, 2016
Team Mark & Drew Hyman, USA

Read article by Tamsin O'Brien.

Extract from article: Mark Hyman from the US has come with his son Drew who is 18. Drew’s been driving his Dad’s Open Sports Tourer but is finding the gears a bit challenging. Mark tells me that “The 8-Litre is my most favourite car – the only drawback is that it makes everything else seem average”.

"We are preparing my 8 liter tourer YX5112, for the first 8 Litre Bentley Rally being held in Europe this coming June. I understand there are 20 teams registered from around the world. My eighteen-year-old son and I will be participating."

1931 Bentley 8 litre touring.

2012 Colorado Grand
1931 Eight-Liter, chassis YX5112, Mark Hyman
The 8-liter Bentleys were ultra-fast and near-silent sedans, and about 120 were produced. To give you an idea of their torque, they could accelerate from 10 to 100 mph in 50 seconds -- using only fourth gear! Featured in the book Bentley, Fifty Years of the Marque, YX5112 is an original short-wheelbase (144-in) chassis originally sold to H.N. Holder of Chelsea, an associate of W.O. Bentley, replacing an earlier 8-Liter that was defective and returned to the works. The final engine test was performed on July 25, 1931, making this one of the last 8-Liters sold before Bentley went into receivership. Later owner Lt. Col. C.M. Jacobs had H. Wallace fit dual-tourer coachwork in 1962, and the car won its class at the 1964 Goodwood Pageant under his ownership. Passing through many hands, it came to the U.S. in 1974. Mark purchased YX5112 in 2007; it underwent a mechanical restoration in 2009 and has been driven extensively since. A warm welcome to Granders Mark and Brian; thanks for bringing back this wonderful Bentley.

Colorado Crested Butte Rally 2010

Colorado, 2009

"I purchased this car in 2007 and have performed a complete mechanical restoration with the intent of touring with the car. I am looking for information from BDC members who have knowledge of the history of my 8-litre. It is presently undergoing a complete mechanical rebuild and will be on the road by mid-July of 2008."

This car was purchased by Mark Hyman in 2007.

Mark Hyman says that these cars had been "neglected for more than 30 years. Each one had been a beautifully restored car that, after its last drive, was just parked and forgotten."

BENTLEY 8-LITER FOUR-PASSENGER SPORT TOURING, 1931
U.K. Reg. No. GP 8441, Chassis No. YX 5112. Motor No. YM 5029.

Engine, six-cylinder, overhead-camshaft, monobloc, bore 110mm. (4 5/16in.), stroke 140mm. (5Jin.) capacity 7,982 c.c. (492 cu. in.); dual coil ignition; four-speed transmission, right-hand floor shift; spiral bevel final drive; footbrake on four wheels, handbrake on rear wheels; suspension semi-elliptic front and rear; wheelbase 144in.; tire size 7.00 x 21.

The 8-liter was W. 0. Bentley's culminating effort; its 230-horsepower motor offered top speeds of 100 miles an hour even when formal coachwork was fitted; there was plenty of room for the largest bodies on the optional long wheelbase of 156 inches. One hundred chassis (37 short and 63 long) were produced between the Fall of 1930 and the collapse of Bentley Motors the following May; a high proportion of these have survived, albeit with sundry modifications.

This short-chassis example carries dual-cowl sport touring bodywork in the classic British idiom, con­structed in the early 1960s, to replace a sport sedan by Gurney Nutting. The sedan's original flared fenders are retained, and there are two doors only, one giving access to each compartment. There are twin tonneau covers; the detachable top is stowed in a small rear trunk. Both conventional folding and aero-type front windshields are fitted; aero-type windshields suffice at the rear. The hood is secured by double leather straps, the radiator cap is of racing quick-filler type, and twin spot lamps are supplemented by a third one mounted on a pillar on the right-hand running-board. The car is right-hand drive.

Shortly after its reconstruction this automobile won its class at the 1964 Rolls-Royce and Bcntley Pageant at the Goodwood Circuit in Britain. Condition is generally very good, and the bodywork is finished in the traditional dark green, with brown leather trim. Andr6 Telecontrol shock absorbers have been fitted; non-original features under the hood include the replacement of the original magneto and coil ignition by twin coils, and fuel feed by twin S.U. electric pumps, though the vacuum system has been retained.

Photograph taken in the Texas Section. Six Flags over Texas, by Robert Draddy

1970 RROC Annual Meet, Dearborn, Michigan

"Martin Forrer demonstrates application of foul weather gear in Gerry Rolph's 8-litre Bentley YX5112."