1938 Bentley 4.25-Liter

Bentley Motors was acquired from W.O. Bentley by Rolls-Royce in 1931.

The Derby Bentley made its debut in August of 1933 at the Ascot Races. It had a 'double dropped' chassis with a semi-elliptic suspension in both the front and rear and four-wheel drum brakes. Power was from a more potent version of its Rolls-Royce 20/25 sibling's 3669cc overhead valve straight-six engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission. The modifications included a crossflow head, twin SU carburetors, a higher compression ratio, and a re-profiled camshaft. Due to the quietness of the engine, it was soon dubbed the 'Silent sportscar.' In 1936, the engine was enlarged to 4257cc and due to its popularity, the smaller capacity powerplant was dropped.

Further revisions and modifications followed in 1938, including improved steering, centralized chassis lubrication, automatic shock absorbers (with hand control override), improved 'big-end' crankshaft bearings, and an 'overdrive' gearbox with direct drive on 3rd gear and overdrive on 4th gear. These changes were first applied to chassis B2MR onwards.

2,411 (some sources state 2,442) examples of the Derby Bentley were built. Approximately 50 percent were bodied by Park Ward in a limited number of styles. 1,234 were 4.25-Litre cars.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2019