1939 Bentley

History

During the late 1920's and early 1930's Bentley ran into grave financial trouble and by 1931 Rolls-Royce had stepped in and bought the assets and goodwill of the defunct company and formed a new one, Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. Rolls-Royce had considered the Bentley marque to be a growing threat to their future success, but following their purchase decided to continue the Bentley name, albeit under their own stewardship, taking the company in an entirely new direction with the creation of the Silent Sports Car or Derby Bentley. In 1933 the new Bentley 3.5 Litre model was released and was an instant success. The combination of effortless power and style met with almost universal praise. It was powered by a developed twin carburettor version of Rolls-Royces own 20/25 model and was installed in a low 126 inch wheelbase chassis that basically remained unaltered until the cessation of production in 1939 due to the outbreak of hostilities. Synchromesh was present on third and fourth gears and the Derby's were fitted with a cross flow cylinder head and superb servo assisted brakes, encapsulating all of the perfection of Rolls-Royce engineering in this small sporting Bentley. Fitting of individual coachwork by approved body builders continued in true Rolls-Royce fashion giving potential buyers a great deal of choice in the look of their new motor car. 1936 saw further improvements with the introduction of the 4.25 Litre model when production of the 3.5 Litre unit ceased. Steady development continued throughout the cars production and in late 1938 even more power was obtained when the overdrive models were introduced, which were known as the MX/MR series cars. The original Bentley sales literature outlined the key improvements that improved the overdrive cars performance which included the provision of an overdrive gearbox which would allow the car to attain a greater maximum speed without exceeding maximum engine revolutions. The steering was of improved design, providing greater control under all conditions. Modified gear ratios and slight engine modifications also improved acceleration under certain conditions. The slower running engine coupled with the over drive top gear resulted in greater silence and smoothness. And finally centralised chassis lubrication and automatic shock absorbers with over-riding hand control were fitted. The MX/MR models were truly the ultimate incarnation on the Derby chassis and are still very much sought after almost eighty years on. Just two hundred MX/MR chassis were created, finding their way to lucky owners with a variety of coachwork designs and are rightly considered to be collector's items. Chassis No B86MR was originally delivered in January of 1939 to Mrs E.V.W Young of Basil Street in Knightsbridge by Jack Barclay Ltd. It was finished with sedanca coupe style coachwork by James Young. It is understood that B86MR was originally ordered by Jack Barclay for stock with saloon style coachwork by Park Ward, but the order was changed late on to suit Mrs Young's purchase request. The stylish coachwork was designed by A.F. McNeil, formerly of Gurney Nutting. This design is certainly reminiscent of coachwork examples created by Gurney Nutting, especially when looking at the design of the rear trunk. The car changed hands in November of 1941 when purchased by W.C. Riley of Leicester. It changed hands again in 1947 when purchased by Humphrey Cook of London who was a former racing driver. Cook returned the car to Jack Barclay just a few months later who supplied it to R.H.S. Bickham of Ledbury in Hertfordshire in 1948. It was kept by the Bickham family until 1953 when it was purchased by Aubrey Gill of Kenilworth. In 1960 Chassis No B86MR left British shores for the first time, when purchased by John Hanson through Paddon Brothers in London. It was subsequently shipped to his home in Amherst Massachusetts. The car remained with Hanson until 1975 when purchased by Tom Trotman who retained the car until 1984 when he sold it to Mr Lee Zucker of Bellevue Washington. Over the following twelve months Mr Zucker instructed a thorough restoration of B86MR and then began using the car regularly, as well as showing the car at various events where it was rewarded on numerous occasions for its quality and stylish appearance. The car was invited to Pebble Beach in 1987 and was then used on many rallies in the United States up until 2007 when the car returned to Europe, to a collection in Germany. It was recently reviewed and prepared by Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialists Alpine Eagle prior to being offered for sale at this time. The history file is complete with early maintenance records, recent invoices, copies of the original chassis cards and other interesting documentation. The car also comes with some nice features, including a complete small tool kit in a drop down tray in the tail mounted trunk, complete and original large tools in a well in the trunk, handbook and also vanity mirrors and a range of items stored in two fold out panels in the rear seating area. This beautiful, well documented Overdrive Series Derby Bentley is in very good order throughout and should be strongly considered by enthusiasts and collectors alike who are looking for one of the best examples bodied on the MX/MR chassis series.

If you would like to make an enquiry about this vehicle, please contact us by phone on 020 8847 5447 or by email at sales@frankdale.com