1933 Bentley 3.5-Liter

Bentley Motors Limited was founded in January 1919 by W.O. (Walter Owen) Bentley in Cricklewood, North London. In October of that year, the company displayed a chassis, sans engine (a dummy engine was installed), at the London Motor Show. An engine for the chassis was designed by ex-Royal Flying Corps officer Clive Gallop and by December it was in operation. Delivery of the first Bentleys did not commence until September 2021 due to development delays. A Bentley automobile competed at the 1922 Indianapolis 500 where it placed 13th overall. Bentleys would claim overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930.

Bentley automobiles built at Cricklewood include the 3-liter (1921-1929), the 4½-litre & 'Blower Bentley' (1926-1930), 6½-litre (1926-1930), 6½-litre Speed Six (1928-1930), 8-Litre (1930-1931), and the 4-Litre (1931). Much of the company's racing success was achieved with the 4½- and 6½-litre Bentley. 720 examples of the 4½ Litre cars were built with one winning at Le Mans in 1928. The 6½ Litre Bentley, in Speed Six configuration, won the 1929 and 1930 LeMans races. 362 examples of the 6½ Litre were built and 182 of the Speed Six. The 8 Litre Bentley was announced in September of 1930 and it was designed to carry the large and luxurious coachwork requested by Bentley's clientele. It succeeded at this task, but it had been introduced a year into the Great Depression, and like many other automakers, Bentley Motors soon entered receivership. Just 100 examples of the 8-Liter were built and fifty of the smaller 4-Litre. While the 8-Litre was exclusive, Bentley hoped to attract a wider audience of buyers with the less expensive (by two-thirds) 4-Litre model, powered by a modified four-liter Ricardo IOE engine.

After Bentley entered receivership, it was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited (well, actually by British Central Equitable Trust which turned out to be a front for Rolls-Royce Limited). Among Bentley's assets were showrooms in Cork Street, the service station at Kingsbury, and the complex at Cricklewood. Rolls-Royce sold the Cricklewood factory in 1932 and relocated production to the Rolls-Royce works in Derby. W.O. Bentley's services had also been part of the acquisition, and once his contract expired at the end of April 1935, he left to join Lagonda.

There was a two-year gap between the production of the 4-Litre Bentley at Cricklewood and the introduction of the Crew-built 3½ litre Bentley in 1933. Bentleys built during this era are known as Derby Bentleys due to the Rolls-Royce factory location in Derby, England. The Bentleys built before the Rolls-Royce acquisition are known as Cricklewood Bentleys.

The Bentley and Rolls-Royce manager at Derby was E.W. Hives who was tasked with designing the all-new Bentley. Taking into consideration Bentley's legacy forged at the race track, as well as the practical realities of building an economical and useable vehicle, he created a list of requirements that would appeal to many prospective buyers. His personal notes read, '...answer to the moods of the driver...be driven fast with safety or will tour without fuss and noise...maximum speed should not be obtained at the expense of acceleration...controls, steering, and brakes shall be light to operate, and the braking shall be adequate for a fast car...maximum speed of the car on the road should be 90 mph, 75 mph in third gear.'

The Bentley 3½ Litre

The 3½ litre Bentley was introduced to the public in September 1933 and was a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25. Rolls-Royce described it as 'the silent sports car,' a slogan that Rolls-Royce would continue to use for Bentley vehicles until the 1950s. Production of the 3½ Liter continued through 1936 with a total of 1,177 examples built.

The 126-inch wheelbase chassis was constructed from nickel steel with a 'double-dropped' layout which allowed vertical space to mount the axles while maintaining a low profile stance. It was lightweight yet rigid and did not require additional diagonal cross-bracing for structural reinforcement. The chassis was suspended by a four-wheel leaf spring suspension with four-wheel servo-assisted mechanical brakes providing the stopping power. The inline-6 cylinder engine was sourced from the 20/25, but with a sportier camshaft profile, two SU carburetors on a crossflow cylinder head, and a higher compression ratio. It had a 3.25-inch bore and a 4.5-inch stroke, which gave it a 3,669cc (3.7-liter) displacement. Output was rated at 110 bhp at 4,500 RPM and depending on the coachwork, had a top speed of 90 mph. The engine was backed by a four-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on 3rd and 4th gear. Approximately half of the 3½ Litres received coachwork by Park Ward. British coachbuilders who provided coachwork for the 3.5-Litre include Mulliner, Mann Egerton, Gurney Nutting, Freestone & Webb, Hooper, Barker, Carlton Vanden Plas, James Young, Windovers, Rippon Bros, and Thrupp & Maberly. Paris coachbuilders included Vanvooren, Saoutchik, Figoni et Falaschi, and Kellner.

The Bentley 4¼ Litre
Heavy coachwork and the desire to maintain the car's sporting image brought about the 4¼ Litre Bentley, introduced in March of 1936. The engine's bore increased to 3.5-inches resulting in a 4,257cc displacement (4.3-liter) size. Most of the bodies were built by Park Ward using steel instead of the previous, more expensive, aluminum atop an ash frame. The 4¼ Litre was replaced in 1939 by the MkV. A total of 1,234 examples of the 4¼ Litre were built.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2022