Bentley MkVI Sports Saloon

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The Bentley MkVI made its debut in May 1946, the firm having been hard at work towards the end of the war on plans for a new model designed to make the most of the crucial export market.

The decision was taken to produce a standard model with an all steel body – doing away with the traditional aluminium panels and ash frame of its predecessors, enabling the firm to bring the final assembly of the complete car in-house for the first time. With high volume aspirations, the body shell was farmed out to specialists Pressed Steel Ltd. in Coventry for manufacture, the completed units returning to Crewe for painting and trimming and building into complete cars.

The chassis itself was a traditional cruciform structure, with leaf springs at the rear and independent coils up front. A silky smooth F-head 4,257cc straight-six was employed, the car enjoying considerable success both at home and abroad with some 5,200 cars leaving the factory before it was replaced by the largely similar R-Type in 1952. Sharing many components with the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith and later Dawn models, it gained a series of upgrades throughout its production life.

As copies of the original factory build sheets confirm, this particular MkVI was supplied new in August 1950 to WN Dendle & Co of St George, South West Queensland, Australia. Specified in Tudor Metallic Grey with a grey leather interior, it also had the following options: Colonial front springs; special dust-proofing; twin fog lamps; oil bath air cleaner; export front bumpers; PSN front seats; double filament headlamps; radio; rear window blind and additional bonnet locks.

It is not clear how long the car remained in Australia but by the late 1990s it had made its way to America where it was owned by a Mr R Small of Maine, a Bentley Drivers’ Club member, who shipped it back to the UK in April 2000 where it was entrusted to the care of Fiennes Engineering of Clanfield. They were tasked with getting the car in good order so that Mr Small could use it whenever he visited England.

An old MOT from this date shows that the car had 18,341 miles on the clock in 2000, a total which has now risen to some 34,200 miles. Fiennes carried out a thorough service in September 2000 with a bill on file for £1,846 and in January 2001 they carried out various other works including a brake and suspension overhaul at a cost of £4,232 (bill on file). In November 2000 the car was put into the name of a David Fine who apparently looked after the car for Mr Small.

The current owner acquired the car from Mr Fine in January 2008 and immediately set about a meticulous process of improvement which has continued to the present day. Over the last 5 years the vendor estimates that he has spent some £50,000 on the car, most of the expenditure going on mechanical improvements. This included a bill for £16,000 at RR&B of Bromsgrove in April 2008 for a brake and suspension overhaul, new clutch, new fuel tank, new exhausts plus sundry other items. The rear axle was rebuilt in November 2009 including the crownwheel and pinion assembly.

In 2011 the engine was fully rebuilt with a balanced crank, flywheel and clutch, all new bearings, new timing gears, new ring gear plus numerous other items at a cost of some £28,000 (bills and photos on file). Since the engine rebuild the car has only covered some 1,500 miles and, as you would expect, it is said to drive superbly with a current tax disc and due to have a fresh MOT by the time of the sale.

Forming part of an impressive private collection, this thoroughly sorted car remains in excellent condition throughout, both cosmetically and mechanically, and is only reluctantly being sold due to illness. These MkVI Bentleys have many fine qualities and we can't help feeling that they are still somewhat undervalued in the current market.

CATALOGUE AMENDMENT - An MOT failure sheet shows that it just needs two rear tyres to get a new MOT, the last expiring shortly before the auction.