1948 Bentley Mark VI Countryman Wagon

Introduced in 1946, the Bentley Mark VI was the first postwar Bentley of Rolls-Royce design. The first Bentley Mark VI was delivered to its owner in September 1946, 16 months after VE Day. It was powered by a new 4.5-liter F-head six-cylinder engine featuring overhead intake and side-mounted exhaust valves and an aluminum-alloy cylinder head. A total of 5,201 Mark VI's were built between 1948 and 1952 with only 999 having special bodies.

Coachbuilder Harold Radford conceived the idea of the English Town and Country Saloon or 'Countryman' on the Bentley chassis. The aluminum body is covered with ash trim and mahogany veneer on alloy panels. This is the 2nd Mark I Countryman built, the first going to Radford himself. A total of eight Mark I Countryman bodies were produced between 1948 and 1949. Another 37 Mark II and Mark III versions of the Countryman were built through 1959.

Source - AACA

Bentley Mark VI 'Mark I Countryman' Coachwork by Harold Radford

It was not a Rolls-Royce but, instead, a Bentley Mark VI that heralded the return of automobile production at Rolls-Royce following World War II. Its appearance was similar to the pre-war Bentley Mark V, of which only 11 were built. A total of 5,201 Bentley Mark VI's were built between 1946 and 1952, with only 999 of that number having special bodies. The example you are viewing is one of that 999. The coachwork is by Harold Radford who conceived the idea for a superb English Town and Country Saloon or 'Countryman.' The 'Mark I Countryman' on this Bentley Mark VI is only the second 'Mark I Countryman' built, the first one going to Harold Radford himself. It is aluminum over ash with wood paneling on the sides. The rear is mahogany veneer on alloy panels. A total of eight 'Mark I Countryman' bodies were built between 1948 and 1949, with 37 more Mark II, Mark III, and later versions of the 'Countryman' made through 1959.