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The Amelia Island
Auction
12 Mar 2015
Sold for
US$ 462,000
"Numbers Matching and with
Original Vanden Plas Sports Coachwork
1925 Bentley 3 Liter Four Seater
Tourer
Coachwork by Vanden Plas
Chassis no. 1009
Engine no. 1007
Body No. 1125
Former UK Registration no.
MH 4796
- 2,996cc SOHC Inline 4-Cylinder Engine
- 4 Overhead Valves Per Cylinder
- 80bhp at 3,500rpm
- 4-Speed Close-ratio Gearbox
- Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
- Four-Wheel Drum Brakes with Perrot
shaft actuation
* Rare original matching numbers car
with original Vanden Plas Sports Coachwork
* Offered from long term ownership
* Meticulously researched history
* Great looking Vintage Bentley, eligible
for many road touring events
The Bentley 3 Liter
The genre of the sporting Vintage
Bentley dates from the earliest days
of Walter Owen Bentley's founding
of the firm that bore his name and
the partnership of his chassis and
coachwork which was provided by local
coachbuilder Vanden Plas. Between
them they created a style that remained
with the company throughout its first
era of production: that of a compact
sports car with lightweight open four
seater touring bodywork. It was in
this same guise that virtually all
of the famed Le Mans campaigns were
undertaken. Even when the 4-cylinder
cars were usurped by their 6-cylinder
models, the most sporting examples
were still built in this guise. The
legend of the 'Bentley Boys', Tim
Birkin and their Le Mans successes,
created the spirit and character of
the brand that perpetuates today,
particularly since its reinvigoration
from the early 2000s. It is for this
reason that the iconic Bentley 3 Liter
Speed Model with Vanden Plas coachwork
is such an important part of the Bentley
story.
W.O. Bentley had proudly unveiled
his new 3 Liter car on Stand 126 at
the 1919 Olympia Motor Exhibition—the
prototype engine having fired up for
the first time just a few weeks earlier.
Bentley's 4-cylinder 'fixed head'
engine incorporated a single overhead
camshaft, 4-valves per cylinder and
a bore/stroke of 80x149mm. Twin ML
magnetos provided the ignition, and
power was transmitted via a 4-speed
gearbox with right-hand change. The
pressed-steel chassis started off
with a wheelbase of 9' 9½"
then adopted dimensions of 10' 10"
('Standard Long') in 1923, the shorter
frame being reserved for the TT Replica
and subsequent Speed Model. Rear wheel
brakes only were employed up to 1924
when 4-wheel Perrot-types were introduced.
Early success in the 1922 Isle of
Man Tourist Trophy, where Bentleys
finished second, fourth, and fifth
and took the Team Prize, led to the
introduction of the TT Replica (later
known as the Speed Model) on the existing
9' 9½" wheelbase, short
standard chassis. Identified by the
Red Label on its radiator, the Speed
Model differed by having twin SU 'sloper'
carburetors, a higher compression
ratio, different camshaft, and the
close-ratio A-type gearbox, the latter
being standard equipment prior to
1927 when the C-type gearbox was adopted.
These engine changes increased maximum
power from the standard 70 to 80bhp
and raised the top speed to an impressive
90mph. Other enhancements included
the larger (11-gallon) fuel tank and
(usually) Andre Hartford shock absorbers.
The 3 Liter was by far the most popular
model of Vintage Bentley production,
with some 1613 chassis built, however
of those only a third were the short
chassis Speed models. By the very
nature of their racing association
the privateers that bought these cars
in the Roaring Twenties were keen
to push these cars to their limits.
A cursory glance through a few of
the period service records show many
returns to the factory following accident
damage, making the actual survival
statistics for all 3 Liters less than
half of the original production. Because
these cars were rather reliable work
horses, it was common for them to
continue their lives in more rudimentary
work, particularly during the war;
in the UK many turned into farm 'hacks',
shooting brakes, or tow vehicles.
For all of these reasons, the actual
number of surviving examples of what
is undeniably the iconic Vintage Bentley
look is rather modest, and they rarely
appear for sale.
The Motorcar Offered
Bonhams is proud to offer this
definitive Vintage Bentley example
from the estate that has owned the
car for more than 30 years. It is
one of the much coveted original Vanden
Plas bodied Sports Touring 'Speed'
Models.
The car was acquired by its enthusiast
owner, a qualified Chartered Engineer,
in the UK in the 1980s from a noted
London Bentley dealer. It was later
brought to the U.S. by him where it
has resided ever since. As a truly
passionate collector he spent much
of his ownership researching the car's
ownership history. Compiled in the
pre-internet era this was a labor
of love – requiring careful thought
and an almost forensic eye for detail.
The fruits of this work are on file
in extensive correspondence with former
owners as he pieced together its long
British life and endorsed its pedigree.
Importantly, copies of its original
build sheet and Vanden Plas coachbuilder
records exist and confirm that chassis
1009 was built as it remains to this
day, as a Speed Model, with engine
number 1007 and wearing Vanden Plas
Body number 1125. These records provide
insight into how the car looked when
new, and show that it must have been
quite a striking example. It was finished
in Dockers French Grey paintwork,
with its chassis and fenders contrasting
in Parsons Long Acre Red and with
a corresponding Grey mohair top, side
curtains and tonneau cover and Connolly
leather upholstery and red wheels.
The proud new owner of the car was
C. L. Warwick, of Beech Hill Park,
Hadley Wood in the UK. Mr. Warwick
appears to have kept the car for only
a matter of months before it passed
to its next keeper, C. A. Cuthbert
of Compton, Nr. Guildford in whose
hands it was maintained by the Cricklewood
Bentley works until its next sale
in 1927 to G.R. Sutton of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
at which point it migrated to the
North of England. Notes on the factory
records detail some parts supplied
to garages in this region until just
before the war.
By roughly 1943 the car migrated a
little down the country, known to
have been owned by a J. F. Collinge
of Rochdale in Lancashire. From this
point its postwar history is charted
as the next owner being a Squadron
Leader Baron, who kept the car up
to 1949. The car then passed progressively
down the country, being owned by a
K. Hadley, J. F. Edmondson in 1952,
W.F. Crosland from October 1954, and
P. Patchett from July 1960, before
arriving in the long term custody
of the Simons family of Chippenham
in Wiltshire in 1965. In the early
days of their ownership it is understood
that the car was exhibited at the
nearby Cheddar Veteran and Vintage
Car Museum, a long since disbanded
institution that was situated in the
town where the most popular UK brand
of cheese was founded.
By the 1970s the car was clearly in
need of attention and its then owner
commissioned a rebuild at one of the
UK's leading restoration shops for
Vintage Bentleys, Elmdown Engineering.
During this refurbishment, its owner
elected to have the car's metal bodywork
covered in black fabric. In doing
this, the holes for the side curtains
were covered; they are no longer with
the car. It also is known that at
this time the original engine was
repatriated to the car.
Its current livery of black with red
upholstery and German silver accessories
is an extremely handsome scheme, and
while its 40 year old rebuild has
some light age to it, the car still
presents very well. Close inspection
reveals it to be a particularly authentic
example. Its chassis number is clearly
stamped in the front dumb iron 'knuckle'
and front cross member and rarely
found details such as its original
seats and some floorboards are still
numbered with their Vanden Plas commission
number (1125). Only its front axle
number is inconsistent with the close
proximity of its other component numbers,
meaning this may have been replaced
at some time.
Naturally, therefore, the Bentley
has been regularly campaigned in this
ownership. Participating in numerous
North American Vintage Bentley Meets
including those at Chatauqua Lake,
Lake Placid and Niagara Falls, it
has also been used as an everyday
transport – used to drive on
the daily commute!—as every true
'car nut' should on occasion. All
the while using its owner's strong
technical prowess as a meticulous
engineer, with able assistance from
a noted national expert locally, the
car would receive regular maintenance.
For more arduous tasks parts were
sometimes sent overseas. For example,
it is known that the car's magnetos
and rear axle were reconditioned by
noted UK specialists.
Offered with its comprehensive history
file which charts the history noted
above and incorporates such gems as
early owner J.F. Collinge's original
annotated handbook and the British
license 'log book', it still retains
its UK license/registration plates.
Over the course of the last 30 years,
the car has been as carefully maintained
as its history was researched, its
owner taking great care to preserve
its usability and at the same time
to participate in the true spirit
with which these cars were built -
it will no doubt provide its next
custodian with similar entertainment.
Aside from simply being one of the
greatest looking cars of its era,
these cars offer a multitude of applications
for touring events, be it with the
North American Vintage Bentley Club,
Rolls-Royce Owners Club, or further
afield in the British Bentley Driver's
Club. They have great road presence
and perform well enough to comfortably
keep up with modern speeds, yet because
they ride on a relatively short chassis,
they are nimble enough to be enjoyed
on country lanes." |
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