1938 Bentley 4.5-Liter

This unique motor car with a 4.5 liter engine, has been owned by the same family since new. Upon arrival at the port of New York, it was immediately driven across the United States to a wedding. A comparable car, driven by the well-known racer Embricos, could exceed 110 mph. The car is characterized by extreme silence and smoothness of operation. The unique coachwork is by the firm of Van Vooren of Paris.

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 | Jan 2014