First International Bentley 8 Litre Rally, June 18-25, 2016
Team: Team Werner, Franco & Kathy Weibel, Switzerland

Read article by Tamsin O'Brien.

~~

Current owner of YR 11 is Werner Weibel. - Franco Weibel

Jul 25, 2014: Sold

1931 Bentley 8 Litre - Ex-HRH the Duke of Kent
Registration Number: 674 XUK
Chassis Number: YR5087

King Edward VII's eldest son, the Prince of Wales took delivery of a Bentley 4½ Litre, with saloon coachwork from the dashingly modern firm of J Gurney Nutting, of Chelsea. Prince Albert, later to be Duke of York and later still to be King George VI owned one of the very sporting Lanchester 40HP cars; the Duke of Gloucester, had a long history of trying various marques which was to end unluckily, some forty years later, when he managed to overturn a Rolls-Royce Phantom V on the way home from Churchill's funeral in 1965.

The youngest, the Duke of Kent was an interesting and unusual character for the Royal Family of that era; he was the only one to have inherited his mother Queen Mary's intellectual and artistic interests, and he certainly seems to have had glamour and a style of his own. He had owned earlier Bentleys, including a 3 Litre, Standard Six, and then a Speed Six and naturally progressed to the 8 Litre in 1931, when he took delivery of chassis number YR5087. The Duke chose the shorter 12'0” wheelbase and had it clothed with a remarkably elegant closed sports four-door body by Windovers, with louvred bonnet and scuttle and twin rear-mounted spare wheels.

Just how much he liked the car is indicated by the fact that this slightly restless enthusiast retained it for several years, even after he had taken delivery of his Derby Bentley 3½ Litre. In fact he seems to have liked the car so much that he had it rebodied in 1935 in a slightly updated design by Thrupp and Maberly. This time the body had a blind-quarter swept-tail design with the minute rear window common to Royal cars throughout the years, to maintain a measure of privacy. He also had fitted twin steps instead of the normal running boards, with, unusually a fire extinguisher fitted between them on each side (perhaps the faintest echo of his father's caution?). The Duke died, tragically early, in a wartime air crash in 1941, and the car passed through the hands of a number of collectors.

By the 1970s YR5087 was in need of refurbishment and the work was undertaken by one of the premier Bentley restorers of the day, Tony Townsend. This included constructing a new body, which took the form of a metal-paneled tourer with three doors and a cut-down next to the driver's seat. Superbly proportioned, the new coachwork featured all the most desirable breed points of a vintage Bentley, including a LeMans tank, louvres all along the chassis, bonnet and scuttle, The wings are of a truly elegant 'helmet' design, and, in a charming echo of the Duke's favoured coachwork twin side steps are fitted to each side of the car. The interior is in the manner of a Bentley Racing car, a dashboard bristling with switches and dials and instruments, any 1920s schoolboy's dream! Of course the car is finished in British Racing Green, as it should be, with matching leather interior.

From the 1970s this wonderful machine spent much of its life in the collection of noted London connoisseur Bob Keeler; revealingly he preferred using it to the 4½ Litre he also owned. He took YR5087 on many European rallies, and twice on Bentley Drivers' Club trips to South Africa, and only relinquished it owing to illness a few years ago. The same tradition of exacting maintenance has been kept up by the most recent owner, in whose hands mechanical servicing and other works have been carried out by Bentley specialists NDR, Neil Davis' well-respected company.

This must be one of the most stunning Vintage Bentleys to have been offered on the market in a long time. The car has an unbeatable combination of a fascinating ownership history combined with stunning Vintage style and delightfully matured condition.

"A picture of this car appeared in the "Weekly Sketch" of 8 July 1931, taken when Prince George, later the Duke of Kent, visited the Shaftesbury Retreat, Loughton on 23 June 1931. If you are interested, I could send you a copy of the photo."

1931 Bentley 8 Litre - Ex-HRH The Duke of Kent
Registration Number: 674 XUK
Chassis Number: YR5087

The pinnacle of W.O. Bentley’s fabled engineering, and earlier Le Mans success culminated in what was the most sophisticated and developed of his Big 6’s with the production of the 8 Litre. ­In running chassis form alone costing £1850, as much, if not more than its rivals in Hispana Suiza and Rolls-Royce and with coachwork costing an additional £800-£1000, these motor cars were only available to the most exclusive and wealthiest of buyers.

Only 100 of these mighty cars were ever produced. Chassis YR5087, being originally sold to H.R.H. The Duke of Kent, who was already a Bentley client who commissionined Thrupp and Maberly coachbuilders for the vehicle’s coachwork.

By the 1970s, YR5087 was in need of refurbishment and the rebuild was undertaken using the leading Bentley specialist of the day, Tony Townsend, who rebuilt the 8 Litre throughout.

YR5087 was then purchased in the late 1970s by the well known Bentley collector Bob Keeler, who also owned a 4½ Blower Bentley at the same time, however preferring the 8 Litre above his 4½, and for the following 25 years used YR5087 on many national and international rallies, including several trips through Europe and twice to South Africa with the Bentley Drivers Club, only letting YR5087 go due to illness some years ago.

Today this fabulous 8 Litre is offered for sale, resplendent in its sporting full four seat touring coachwork, with long range Le Mans petrol tank, helmet wings, fold down windscreen and full weather equipment.

All recent mechanical services and other works have been undertaken through Bentley specialist N.D.R. This is a rare opportunity to acquire an extremely important 8 Litre W.O Bentley in superb condition ready for any of the many events that this mighty Bentley is eligible to compete in.

This car is for sale as of Apr 13, 2011 at Coys.
This car is for sale as of Jun 27, 2011 at Coys.

This is the 1931 HRH Duke of Kent car which has formed part of the Keeler collection for decades. The car is fully matching with original engine, gearbox et, and has been well-known to the vintage Bentley market for many, many years.