1928 Bentley 6.5 Litre Uprated to full Speed Six specification

1928 Bentley 6.5 Litre
Chassis No: TW 2705
Engine No: BR 2359
UK Registration No: YU 9651
Uprated to full Speed Six Specification in 1978/84 with a VDP style tourer body by Roger Cook.
Extensive history in recent years with records of considerable mechanical work, a full engine overhaul with Phoenix con-rods.
Fitted with an 8 Litre block and overdrive.

Success throughout the 1920’s at Le Mans, the Double Twelve at Brooklands, and other international events combined with tales of the ‘Bentley Boys” are of course part of the Bentley legend. The Bentley marque will always be associated with the competitive events of the “roaring ’20’s”, with  the 3 Litre, the 4.5 Litre and the Speed Six recording victories  at Le Mans and many other races. Many vintage Bentleys have been enthusiastically raced and rallied over more recent decades. They are so robust and reliable that they occupy a pre-eminent position in the collector car world, and are often first choice for the enthusiast who wants to race or compete in  international rallies. Their survival rate results in the healthy development and expansion of businesses dedicated to restoration, servicing, parts manufacture, plus race and rally preparation. No other marque can boast having such an extensive network of support for the enthusiastic owner. The Bentley Speed Six is perhaps the greatest of them all. With the almost unlimited turbine like power supplied by the 6 cylinder 6.5 Litre engine the car has few competitors in terms of performance and reliability. The highly sophisticated design with four valves per cylinder was perhaps W.O. Bentley’s greatest achievement.

This car started life as a 6.5 Litre, the first version of the model known as the “Big Six”. Although by this time Bentley had established success on the race track with the 3 Litre many customers wanted to fit more formal heavy coachwork to their cars. Rolls Royce were well ahead with their New Phantom design (successor to their long running Silver Ghost model), and Bentley needed to compete. The 3 Litre was just not powerful enough to carry the larger more formal coachwork many owners required, and Bentley decided to develop the 6.5 Litre. Many of the earlier 6.5 Litre cars carried Saloon and Limousine bodies, and even some of the open cars were quite formal. TW 2705 was fitted with saloon coachwork by Freestone and Webb as noted on the factory service sheet which is complete up to 1938.

The factory service sheet records the first owner as Andre Marcel Desouttter and then subsequent owners up to 1938  as L.S. Sergeant, Stanley Hine, and E.W. Wigg. By 1978 the car was owned by Ian Rendall, a well known and highly respected Bentley Drivers Club member. By this stage the car needed a full restoration and a decision was taken to upgrade the car to full Speed Six Specification. The undertaking required commissioning new coachwork, and this part of the job was given to Roger Cook, widely regarded as one of the best Vintage Bentley restorers at the time. Since restoration TW 2705 has been a regular competitor in many prestigious international rallies and events. Over recent decades further mechanical work has been undertaken at several top level Vintage Bentley specialists including Blackmore Engineering (Tony Fabian), NDR Ltd. (Neil Davis), and William Medcalf. In total the invoices record well over £250,000 spent. The car has the latest Phoenix rods, full flow oil filtration with a modern oil filter, and overdrive. It would be very difficult to find a six cylinder Vintage Bentley that has been uprated to such a high specification and with the outstanding touring capabilities this car has.