To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Amelia Island event, 8 - 9
March 2019.
Estimate:
$650,000 - $750,000
- Presented at the Olympia and Scottish Motor Shows in 1927
- Formerly owned by Curling Hunter, famed privateer racing
driver
- Rebodied by Bentley in period with current all-weather tourer
coachwork
- Upgraded with a Speed Six inlet manifold and twin SU
carburetors in 1932
- Documented history by Bentley specialist Clare Hay
- One of 242 standard-wheelbase units produced
Following the end of World War I, Walter Owen Bentley gathered
together a small group of dedicated and skilled artisans to create
Bentley Motors in Cricklewood. The first cars appeared in 1919, a
group of three experimental 3-Litre models. In the following
decade, the 3-Litre gave way to the 4�-Litre, the 6�-Litre, the
Speed Six, the 8-Litre, the supercharged 4�-Litre, and finally the
subdued 4-Litre.
The 6�-Litre Bentley was introduced in 1926, powered by a massive
6,597-cc engine with a single Smith's five-jet carburetor. The
four-wheel mechanical drum brake system with Dewandre servo assist
is surprisingly effective at bringing this great chassis to a smart
stop. Vintage Bentley cars were consistently well made, powerful,
responsive, and surprisingly easy to drive�once you mastered the
synchro-less gearbox. Today, the A-, C-, D-, and F-type boxes are
the most desirable since they are the easiest to master with their
close-ratio gearing. The Bentley offered here has the desirable "C"
gearbox.
For those exceptionally well-heeled, sporting, motor car
enthusiasts living in the UK or continental Europe in the 1920s,
chances are they would have driven a Bentley. From the first
3-Litre introduced in 1919, until delivery of the last 8-Litre car
in 1931, this was the Ferrari of its day. Enthusiastically driven,
few marques have had as many coachwork and engine replacements as
the 1919-1931 Bentleys. Fortunately, Bentley enthusiasts have
amassed great stores of vintage photographs, service records, and
other documentation to tell each car's story. The prudent Vintage
Bentley buyer will seek an example, such as this, with a recorded
history. As such, world-renowned Bentley specialist Clare Hay has
compiled a comprehensive report of this car's fascinating
history.
This Standard Six was first sold in October 1927, to Philip
Worthington of Berkeley Square, a Bentley enthusiast. Apparently,
this was his third. It was originally fitted with a Gurney Nutting
'Weymann' four-door saloon body, the same design fitted to J.
Gurney Nutting's own car, with front hinged doors and helmet wings
with platform steps�the height of fashion in 1928. It was displayed
on the Gurney Nutting stand at the Olympia Motor Exhibition as
their show car that year. It was awarded First Place in its
division, "Section 4 - Novelty Bodies including fabric-covered and
flexible type" by the esteemed Institute of British Carriage and
Automobile Manufacturers.
The car was driven frequently and therefore extensively serviced
and retrofitted by Bentley Service within its first year, after
being driven a remarkable 21,505 miles. Work included
decarbonization, new connecting rods, and a new type of carburetor,
amongst other parts. A year later, Bentley Motors Service records
list how and why the engine was replaced and again overhauled and
re-numbered�all under Bentley Motors guarantees.
Apparently, its new owner, H. C. Hunter of Wimbledon Common in
London, was in an accident in May 1932. This "prang," as documents
describe it, involved the chassis frame, radiator, and steering
components. They were restored by Bentley at the factory before
being fitted with a new all-weather body by T.H. Gill & Son. The
engine was also upgraded by Bentley with a Speed Six multi-port
pattern inlet manifold and twin SU HVG5 carburetors in June 1932.
Bentley Motors Service records confirm that the Company tested the
car and deemed it correct, before it was returned to its owner. As
Clare Hay notes in her comprehensive report, "PR2310 was rebodied
in 1932 by T.H. Gill & Son of Paddington in London, for H.C.
Hunter, with a four-door all-weather tourer body of up-to-date
lines . . . Lucas P100 headlamps and Lucas snail pattern sidelights
are also updating, in place of the earlier Smiths, with wheel discs
added. The coachwork is handsome and gives the Bentley a new lease
of life."
A series of owners enjoyed the car through the decades. A thorough
restoration at Scott Moncrieff was accomplished before joining its
next owner's collection in the mid-2000s, where it regularly
participated in numerous events and tours. Its all-weather body has
enabled its owners to participate in these events regardless of the
current climate, and a discreetly fitted overdrive unit has made
long-distance touring events a joy. Finished in a handsome shade of
royal blue, correctly nickel-plated brightwork and a black fabric
top, with pale grey leather, exquisite walnut-trimmed interior, and
a complete and authentic instrument panel. It is an impressive
motor car, indeed.
The recent success of new Bentley models, combined with the
company's reawakening to its heritage, is creating a new group of
collectors interested in such Vintage models. As 2019 is Bentley
Motors' 100th Jubilee Year, meets and concours events worldwide
will be seeking examples like this. What better way to celebrate
this motoring milestone than while enjoying the distinctive
"burble" and silky handling from behind the wheel of this
majestically handsome, highly revered, and honest example of the
timeless Bentley marque.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am19.