1935 Bentley 3.5 Liter

Bentley Motors lost its independence in 1931 when it was acquired by Rolls-Royce. The first of what would become known as the 'Derby Bentleys' was launched in 1933. It continued the sporting characteristics that had made the Bentley marque famous while incorporating the refinement of the Rolls-Royce.

Following Woolf Barnato's withdrawal of funding, Bentley's sad fall from grace was rapid, entering receivership in 1931. The invincible Bentley Boys claimed their fourth win at Le Mans in 1930 in the legendary 'hare and tortoise' race, where Sir Henry 'Tim' Birkin had charged away, goading the Mercedes SSKs into burning out their superchargers and allowing the Works Speed Sixes to claim victory. The worldwide depression led to a fall in sales, prompting Barnato to withdraw his funding and nearly ending one of the greatest names in British motorsport. Former competitor Rolls-Royce outbid others, including Napier, to ensure the perpetuation of Bentley.

Rolls-Royce developed an experimental vehicle codenamed Peregrine that was powered by a supercharged 2.75-liter engine. The still-born chassis would eventually provide the basis for the 3.5-liter Bentley. Based on the contemporary Rolls-Royce 20/20hp, the 3.5-liter Bentley rested on slightly shorter wheels and fitted with a tuned twin-SU-carburetor version of the former's overhead-valve six. It was given an all-synchromesh four-speed gearbox and servo-assisted brakes, which offered the driver silent and effortless sports car performance. It quickly earned the nickname, 'The Silent Sports Car.'

The new Bentley motorcar was refined by Rolls engineers from 1931 through to the spring of 1933, and when introduced, it was received to universal acclaim, even 'WO' (W.O. Bentley), who was part of the team that tested the new car extensively is quoted as saying - 'Taking all things into consideration, I would rather own this Bentley car than any car produced under that name.'

The Bentley 3.5-Liter was introduced to the public in August of 1933 and each example was built as a running chassis and shipped to the coachbuilder of the buyer's choice to receive its coachwork. These exclusive automobiles received nearly half of the coachwork by Park Ward in a limited number of styles. Other builders included Barker, Hooper, James Young, Arthur Mulliner, Thrupp & Maberly, Vanden Plas, Gurney Nutting, and H.J. Mulliner.

The new Bentley maintained its appeal for sportsmen, offering true road performance, power, handling, good brakes, and above all, refinement and quietness of running.

During its production lifespan, which continued until 1937, a total of 1,177 examples of the 3.5 Litre cars were built. The final year's allocation was produced alongside the new 4.25-liter version that would later supersede the 3.5-liter. The chassis series A to F were 3.5-liter cars; G to L (not including I) were 4.25 liters, and the M Series was the 4.25 Liter Overdrive chassis. Each of these series had 100 chassis numbers, either even or odd (numbers 13 and 133 were excluded - superstition).

Bentley Motors may have lost its independence, but Rolls-Royce's acquisition of the company ensured the survival of the Bentley name.

Mechanical Specification
The Bentley 3½-litre rested on a 126-inch (3,200 mm) wheelbase chassis that was suspended by leaf springs. The nickel steel chassis had a 'double-dropped' layout, allowing vertical space for the axles, resulting in the car's low profile. Compared to its contemporary competitors, the chassis was very light, weighing in at 2,510 lbs in driveable form. Stopping power was via four-wheel servo-assisted mechanical drum brakes. The 3,669cc inline six-cylinder engine received twin SU carburetors and produced approximately 115 horsepower at 3,800 RPM. The cylinder bore measured 3.25 inches (82.5mm) and the stroke at 4.5 inches (114.3 mm). The four-speed manual transmission had synchromesh on the 3rd and 4th.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2019