| |
1931 Bentley 4
litre Sports Saloon
The Bentley 4-Litre was the old Cricklewood
company's swansong model before its
absorption by Rolls-Royce. With the
Depression biting, sales of the old
4½-Litre declining and its
newest, 8-Litre, model costing all
of £1,850 in chassis-only form,
Bentley Motors desperately needed
a new smaller model to compete with
Rolls-Royce's successful 20/25hp.
The result was the 4-Litre. The six-cylinder
engine was designed by Ricardo, with
overhead inlet/side exhaust valves
and a claimed output of 120bhp at
4,000rpm. A double-drop chassis was
adopted, closely based on that of
the contemporary Bentley 8-Litre,
and offered in two wheelbase lengths:
11' 2" and 11' 8", both
of which were shorter than the shortest
of the two 8-Litre chassis available.
Although 'W. O.' did not like the
Ricardo design (considering it difficult
to tune) the fundamental soundness
of the inlet-over-exhaust arrangement
would be demonstrated after the war,
engines of this configuration powering
Bentley and Rolls-Royce motor cars
up to 1959. The 4-Litre has been much
maligned and is little understood,
yet it had the best chassis, gearbox
and rear axle of all the Bentleys,
which has caused many to be converted
into 6½- and 8-litre specials.
Only 50 4-Litres were completed before
the original Bentley company's liquidation,
of which only 12 are known to exist
today.
VF 4011 was delivered new to J. M.
Robertson of 45, West Nile Street,
Glasgow and wore a Weymann saloon
body by Freestone & Webb. Two
years later it had migrated south
to A. R. Timson of Kettering and in
1937 it passed to J.W. Tompkins of
Peterborough. The old buff log book
with the car cites Dr. Benjamin Spiers
of Harley St. as the owner in January
1949. Dr. Spiers was responsible for
having a rakish drophead coupe alloy
body fitted to the car, which the
current owner felt had perhaps replaced
war-damaged or modified bodywork as
its use in that period is not known.
It was in this form that the owner
purchased the car from Harvey Hudson
& Co. Ltd. of South Woodford,
Essex in April 1954. He fondly recalls
haring around the Essex countryside
in the 4 litre as a young man and
having enjoyed it immensely, but within
a year his impending marriage curtailed
these activities and forced him to
advertise the car for sale. It was
offered in Motorsport, where it is
listed as having had £1,500
spent since 1945 and a recent engine
rebuild by McKenzie's, but with no
buyers forthcoming, and a need still
to economise the car was laid up on
blocks until 1986.
It was then that the 4 Litre was booked
into Arthur Archer's esteemed restoration
works in Dunmow, Essex in September
1986 for an engine overhaul. This
rebuild quickly migrated into a complete
restoration of the chassis and running
gear and as this work neared completion,
owner and restorer were faced with
a conundrum over the car's bodywork,
it made little sense to restore the
1940s body as this was an anachronism
for the 30s car but unfortunately
no photos existed of this car as new.
At this point fortune played its part
when another 4 litre was discovered
locally. Despite that car's derelict
condition it retained a front and
back door of that car's original bodywork
a Gurney Nutting saloon, and a period
photograph of its bodywork existed.
With enough to work from it was decided
to replicate that car's Gurney Nutting
bodywork for this car. The design
in question was fitted originally
to chassis VA 4076, as illustrated
in Johnnie Green's 'Bentley, 50 years
of the Marque' on page 135.
There is little doubt of the quality
and eye for detail with which the
car's bodywork was remade, Archer's
motto of 'Older than the Industry'
being testament to their familiarity
with all aspects of restoration, including
coachbuilding. The new coachwork was
exquisitely painted in two tone livery
and trimmed in deep red leather hide,
its interior being appointed with
period fittings of vanity units, correct
dashboard instrumentation and even
a tool storage area behind the rear
seat. All told the cost of the 12
year rebuild amounted to some £90,000,
for which each and every bill is available,
many dating from the late 1980s when
labour was considerably less than
today.
On its completion the Bentley was
first shown at the Bentley Driver's
Club Annual Concours in 1998, it has
subsequently seen modest use, but
has been regularly run and has seen
further maintenance carried out by
Archer since. Over the course of the
last decade its condition has aged
a little with the odd paint chip on
leading edges of the bonnet etc. but
the work still stands up very well.
As the car stands it represents a
well-restored example of the model,
and a commendable labour of love to
have rebuilt the car to its original
form. Without doubt it would make
a very practical and usable touring
car for Bentley Driver's Club events
and the like.
Sold for
£96,100 inclusive of Buyer's
Premium
|
|
