For Sale at Auction: 1950 Bentley Mark VI in Scottsdale, Arizona

FROM THE MISSOULA AUTO MUSEUM COLLECTION: Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale WITHOUT RESERVE and SOLD to the highest bidder January 19th - 22nd, 2017 at Russo and Steele's 17th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction at the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Please contact us for more information. In 1946, Bentley and Rolls-Royce launched their first new postwar models, the landmark "Standard Steel" Mark VI and Silver Wraith/Silver Dawn. Representing a radical change as the first Bentley and Rolls-Royce cars to be offered with factory-built coachwork, their Standard Steel Saloon bodies were produced by the Pressed Steel factory. While built, trimmed, and painted to a standard rivaling the work of the era's finest custom coachbuilders, they were also available in bare-chassis form to independent coachbuilders for custom-built bodies. The Bentley Mark VI was powered by a six-cylinder, inline unit with "F-type" cylinder heads that placed the intake valves over the exhaust. Engine displacement was initially 4,257 cc and in concert with a synchromesh four-speed gearbox and modern independent front suspension, performance was quite impressive for the era. While few custom coachbuilders remained in business after WW II, those few who remained were not always able to make significant improvements over the already very well-balanced lines of the standard steel coachwork. Accordingly, only about 20 per cent of Bentley Mark VI production utilized coachbuilt bodies. From 1949, left-hand drive Mk VIs were available for the lucrative American export markets and from 1951 forward, an engine-displacement increase to 4,566 cc boosted performance. The Mark VI was introduced at a time of steel shortages and the famous "Export or Die" mantra which translated into a desperate shortage of available new cars for sale on the UK Home Market. Mark VI production continued to 1952 with 5,202 built in all. Among them were 4,000 cars with the 4