 1938 4¼-Liter | 1938 4.5-Liter |
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1939 Bentley 4¼ Liter news, pictures, and information | ||
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 |  |  | Pillarless Saloon Coachwork: Vanvooren Chassis Num: B3MX Engine Num: B7BN |
By 1936 the bodies had grown in size and weight and a new power-plant was required. To provide more horsepower, a 4257-cc engine was offered. A few of the 3.5-liter cars were converted at the factory to the larger power-plant. With permission from Hispano-Suiza, serov-assisted mechanical brakes were placed on all four corners of the car.
This 1939 Bentley 4.25 Liter Vanvooren Pillarless Saloon was ordered on June 17th of 1939. It was shipped to France where it was given the Vanvooren pillarless saloon body.
Achille Vanvooren had been in business since 1910. The facilities were located at Courbevoie, northwest of Paris. In 1919 he sold to partners Daste and Guillemet. Daste stayed with the company until 1932 when he left for Hispano-Suiza. Vanvooren's most common customers at this time were Hispano-Suiza and Rolls-Royce. Vanvooren bodied more Derby Bentley's than any other coachbuilder from outside of Britain.
This particular 4.25-liter Bentley was one of the last constructed from the 200 M-Series. These cars were equipped with overdrive gearbox's and a Marles steering box.
In total, Vanvooren bodied just seven of the M-Series cars. B3MX was the last constructed and the only one that has survived. The vehicles first owner was Jacques Bollinger, head of Champagne Bollinger, a renowned French vintners. After his death in 1941, his widow retained the car for a number of years before selling in 1949 to Mr. E. Phillips, the British Consul at Biarritz.
The car passed through several more owners until coming under the care of Andrew McGill of the UK in 1983. The car was completely restored and finished in French Bleu. Ownership later passed to Jules Heumann of the United States and a former Pebble Beach co-chair.
This one-off 1939 Bentley 4.25 Liter Vanvooren Pillarless Saloon was offered for sale at the 2006 Gooding & Company Auction held in Pebble Beach, Ca. It was estimated to fetch between $160,000-$225,000. At the conclusion of the auction, this vehicle was left unsold.
By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2007
 |  |  | Saloon Coachwork: Park Ward & Co. |
The car rides on a 126-inch wheelbase with an overall length of 192 inches and weighs 3750 pounds. The car is powered by an overhead valve, inline, 4257cc six-cylinder engine. From 1938, an 'overdrive' transmission with geared-up top was fitted to make the car better suited to fast roads. Park Ward bodies were without the wooden framing so they lasted better. The total production of the 5.25-liter Bentleys was 1,234 between 1936 and 1939.
 | Sunroof Coupe Coachwork: Vanvooren Chassis Num: B132LS | |
| Sold for $330,000 at 2012 Mecum. | ||
This Sunroof Coupe was bodied by Vanvooren in Paris. It was ordered new by Lucie Vogt, the 27-year old daughter of a very wealthy French family that had made its fortune through a number of potassium mines. The car was ordered from French Rolls-Royce Bentley importers Franco-Britannique in 1937, specifying a sliding sunroof and no rear quarter windows so that her dogs would not be so frightened by the traffic.
During World War II, the car was hidden away and then sold to two Swiss owners. In 1957, it was imported to an American owner in Massachusetts, who sold the car to another Massachusetts resident in October of 1960, with whom it remained until 2004.
Vanvooren created just five examples of the fixed-head coupe Derby Bentleys (which includes both 3.5 L and 4.25 L models). It is believed that this example is the only one with unique so-called custode windows and sliding sunroof.
By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2012
Bentley Motors was purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931. One of the first of the Bentley vehicles produced after this merge was the 1933 3-1/2 Liter, a vehicle similar to the Rolls Royce 20/25. Bentley automobiles personified racing and the 3 1/2 Liter vehicle followed this tradition. It had a more powerful engine than its 20/25 counterpart. This had been achieved by adding a second carburetor and modification of the compression ratio.
Rolls Royce introduced the 25/30 in 1936 and Bentley introduced its counterpart, the 4 1/4 Liter. The Bentley featured 2 SU carburetors and a naturally aspirated straight-six engine producing 125 horsepower. It could achieve sixty mph in around fourteen seconds with the top speed just below 100 mph. The front-engine designed was matted to a four-speed manual gearbox and drove the rear wheels. Production lasted from 1936 through 1939 during which over 1240 examples were produced. This was the most vehicles of a single series Bentley had ever produced up to this time.
By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2006
Rolls Royce introduced the 25/30 in 1936 and Bentley introduced its counterpart, the 4 1/4 Liter. The Bentley featured 2 SU carburetors and a naturally aspirated straight-six engine producing 125 horsepower. It could achieve sixty mph in around fourteen seconds with the top speed just below 100 mph. The front-engine designed was matted to a four-speed manual gearbox and drove the rear wheels. Production lasted from 1936 through 1939 during which over 1240 examples were produced. This was the most vehicles of a single series Bentley had ever produced up to this time.
By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2006
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 1939
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| 1938 4¼-Liter | 1938 4.5-Liter |
