1947 Bentley Mark VI

The Bentley and Rolls-Royce Works suspended motor car production in 1940 as the factories were re-tooled to support the war effort. When World War II ended, Bentley resumed automobile production with a model dubbed the Mark VI. Introduced in May of 1946, production would continue through 1952 with a total of 5,208 examples built. These four-door, all-steel standard sports saloons were built at the company's factory and rested on a 120-inch wheelbase chassis that measured 192 inches in length and stood 64.5 inches tall. They were motivated down the road via an F-head straight-6 engine that displaced 4,257cc (259 cubic inches / 4.25 liters) paired with a four-speed synchromesh manual transmission. Displacement grew to 5.4 liters (278 CID / 4566cc) in 1951 after its bore was enlarged from 3.5 inches to 3 5/8 inches. The right-hand drive (RHD) configurations used two horizontal constant-vacuum SU carburetors and the left-hand drive (LHD) versions received a single dual downdraught Stromberg carburetor type AAV26M.

The front suspension was independent with coil springs while the rear used leaf springs. Controls on the steering wheel could be used to adjust the rear springing by hydraulically adjusting the rear dampers. Adjusting a check valve would divert transmission oil to the dampers. The stopping power was by 12.25-inch drum brakes with Rolls-Royce mechanical servo at the transmission.

Approximately eighty percent of the Mark VI chassis received the standard steel coachwork with a similar design to the late pre-war Mark V Park Ward four-door saloon. The remaining (approximately 20 percent / 999 examples of the total 5,201 Mark VI chassis) examples were given coachwork from body makers, including H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward, James Young, Franay, Saoutchik, and Hooper. A single example was given coachwork by prominent Parisian coachbuilder Figoni et Falaschi.

Bentley replaced the Mark VI with the R-Type which wore updated coachwork that featured an extended boot (trunk) and rested on a chassis that had been extended six inches behind the rear wheels. Mechanical improvements included an optional automatic transmission.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2023