1949 Bentley Mark VI Sport Coupe

Bentley's postwar production started with the Mark IV, the production line pushing out a new, luxury 4-door sedan and some rolling chassis for independent coachbuilders. Vanvooren was a Parisian coachbuilder, founded in 1918, which had had a strong relationship with Rolls-Royce prewar, resulting in many examples of their coachwork on Rolls-Royce chassis.

Bentley used an F-head, six-cylinder engine of 4257cc (in 1949) and four-speed all synchromesh transmission - on right hand drive cars the gear lever was to the right, on left hand drive, that is American and Continental European market cars, it was four-on-the-tree. These were, and are, strong, handsome and useful cars.

This beautifully restored, very rare, left-hand drive 4-speed column shift two door coupe. This car wears a one-of-a-kind body by Vanvooren of Paris. The restoration on this car today would cost over $300,000. It was sold new by the authorized Rolls-Royce dealer in Paris, Franco Britannic to Ortis Linarcs on April of 1949. After coming to the United States it was restored in 2000 for Eugene Sorbo of Massachusetts. It was then sold to Charles Crail before being acquired by its current owner in 2008.

Vanvooren, founded in 1918, had a strong relationship with Rolls-Royce in the 1930s, resulting in many Vanvooren bodies built on Rolls-Royce chassis.