1939 Bentley 4¼ Liter Pillarless Saloon

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 | Sep 2019

This Bentley 4.25 Litre is one of 200 M-series cars. Its unique coachwork was built by Carrosserie Vanvooren of Paris, which bodied seven of the M-Series cars; this is the only one that is known to have survived and was the last Bentley bodied by the French carrossier. The original owner was Lilly Bollinger of the famous Bollinger champagne family in France. When the Nazis invaded that country in 1940, her chateau was commandeered by the Germans, and it is said that she slept in the cellars next to her beloved Bentley, which she had bricked up in order to conceal it. After General Patton's Third Army arrived in 1944, the car was disinterred and Lilly retained it for a number of years before selling it to Mr. E. Phillips, the British Consul at Biarritz. Ownership eventually passed to former Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Co-Chairman Jules Heumann. Its current owner bought the car in 2014.

It was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2019 and at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering in 2022.