"Thank you very much for sending me your latest Newletter. It rekindled many half forgotten memories, and I found it a very interesting read.

My father, Mr M C Pitts owned the 1924 3 litre Speed Model Reg No. XP 9083 (was JUF 261) from 1956 - 1974. I learnt to drive in it! The car was used regularly for everything from weekly shopping to family holidays, and brought many a smile wherever we went. The 'getting there' was as much fun as the destination, except perhaps when the weather was Arctic!

We do indeed have some photos of the car from 1956 -1974 in the family album, and would be happy to make digital copies and share them.

I see that the car is still being driven on the road, and am writing to enquire whether it might be possible to see it at a meeting or event somewhere in the UK in 2019. The car played an important part in our family, and I would love to see it again."

Brooklands - Bentley Drivers Club Tests, March 2016

VSCC 80th Acorn Rally, August 2014

This car sold for $218,070 on July 1, 2011 at Bonhans Goodwood Auction.

1924 Bentley 3-Litre Speed Model Tourer
Registration no. XP 9083
Chassis no. 401
Engine no. 397

Estimate: £120,000 - 150,000

Footnote:
W O Bentley proudly unveiled the new 3-litre car bearing his name 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 four-cylinder 'fixed head' engine incorporated a single overhead camshaft, four-valves per cylinder and a bore/stroke of 80x149mm. Twin ML magnetos provided the ignition and power was transmitted via a four-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 four-wheel Perrot-type brakes were introduced.

In only mildly developed form, this was the model that was to become a legend in motor racing history and which, with its leather-strapped bonnet, classical radiator design and British Racing Green livery, has become the archetypal Vintage sports car.

Early success in the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, when Bentleys finished second, fourth, and fifth to take 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' carburettors, 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 'box was adopted. These engine changes increased maximum power from the standard 70 to 80bhp and raised top speed to an impressive 90mph. Other enhancements included the larger (11-gallon) fuel tank and (usually) Andre Hartford shock absorbers. Bentley made approximately 1,600 3-Litre models, the majority of which was bodied by Vanden Plas with either open tourer or saloon coachwork.

Michael Hay's authoritative work, Bentley, The Vintage Years, records the fact that '401' was completed as a Speed Model with four-seat coachwork by Vanden Plas. The engine number is recorded as '397', the registration as 'XP 9083' and the first owner as one E H Robinson. One of only 513 Speed Models built, this matching-numbers example has no history on file prior to 1950, when it received attention from well known Bentley specialist, Sid Lawrence. In 1951 the car was completely rebuilt by Jack Playford for the then owner Mr Gardner of Chelsea, and there are bills on file for all work dating from this period up to the present day.

Subsequent long-term owner M C Pitts had much mechanical work done by Messrs Hoffmann & Burton throughout his ownership, including replacing the A-Type gearbox with D-Type unit 1960. In the mid-1960s Hoffmann & Burton rebuilt the engine, while further substantial engine work was carried out by Messrs Hoffman & Mountfort in 1970s. The Bentley was used by Mr Pitts as an everyday vehicle until his ill health prompted its sale, whereupon it was bought at auction in 1974 by the Bunn family.

In the 1970s the Bentley was re-bodied with two-door Vanden Plas-style coachwork by James Pearce Coachbuilders of Wisborough Green, West Sussex, replacing the non-original body fitted at that time, the original having long since disappeared (invoices and photographs on file). New connecting rods and pistons were fitted and the crankshaft re-white metalled during the course of an engine rebuild undertaken in 1988 by Blackmore Engineering at a cost of £5,000. Some minor repairs were carried out in 1990 but there are no invoices on file for work after that date.

The car comes with old-style logbook and a report dated April 1983 written by noted automobile historian and author, Michael Sedgwick, who found that 'authenticity has been carefully studied in (its) reconstruction'.