1928 Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Tourer

Coming soon to Oldtimer Australia is this magnificent 1928 Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Tourer.

 This car is very well known in vintage Bentley circles and is documented in the fabulous book Vintage Bentleys in Australia, written by Clare Hay, Bob Watson, Phillip Schudmak and Tony Johns.

 The car was delivered in February 1928 (31st January 1928 according to the Vintage Bentley Register) and was first registered in the UK as UC 4751.

 It was originally fitted with Gurney Nutting-built Weymann saloon coachwork and delivered to its first owner, Sandys Macaskie in the UK.

 Vintage Bentleys in Australia records subsequent owners as RWB Peirse, UK (1931), TB Gibson, Pickering, Yorkshire, UK (1970) and WM Sykes, Cambridgeshire, UK (1988).

 In 1989, the car was acquired by well-known and highly respected Australian classic car enthusiast Clive Smith and subsequently imported into Australia. At that time, the Bentley was a restoration project and was entrusted to Australian Bentley expert Rod Warriner, who restored the car and built/fitted the Vanden Plas style tourer body it carries today.

 The current owner acquired this fabulous Bentley in 2024 and has enjoyed using it on a number of Bentley events, including the Australian Bentley Rally held in South Australia in November 2024. The car was driven from Melbourne to the rally and back, covering approximately 2,500 km, during which time it performed flawlessly.

 A change in the current owner's circumstances has meant that he has reluctantly decided to offer this wonderful Bentley for sale.

 More information and photos to follow soon.

 Price $479,950

 Background 

The Bentley motor car company was founded back in 1919 by brothers WO and HM Bentley. The Bentley brothers were involved in the motor industry having acquired the agency to sell French built DFP (Doriot, Flandrin & Parant) cars in 1912, however, they desperately wanted to build their own cars.

 WO Bentley had established himself as a brilliant engineer during World War I when the French made DFP in which he competed, achieved a number of wins in various races and hill climbs. He was one of the first engineers who realised the advantage of using aluminium to create pistons. W.O Bentley was discharged from the army in 1919 and he set about creating his own car. His experience with aircraft engines proved an excellent starting point. He was also heavily influenced by two pre-war designs, the 1914 Grand Prix Mercedes and the 1913 Coupe de l’Auto Peugeot.

 Bentley developed a 3.0 litre monobloc engine which featured four valves per cylinder, twin spark plugs and twin magnetos. He made extensive use of aluminium and magnesium which were quite exotic materials in the 1920’s, especially for road going cars. The first prototype, EXP1, was tested by “The Autocar” and received a glowing report. It was described as “For the man who wants a true sporting type of light-bodied car for use on a Continental tour – where speed limits are not meant to be observed – the 3 Litre Bentley is undoubtedly the car par excellence.”

 The second prototype, EXP2, made its debut at the 1919 Olympia motor show. The new Bentley 3.0 Litre attracted a lot of attention however it wasn’t until September 1921 that the first model rolled of the production line. Between the 1919 motor show and September 1921 much work had been done to further refine the chassis. EXP2 was the first Bentley to record a race win at Brooklands on May 16th 1921. Bentley continued to use it for further testing in 1921 and 1922 before it was sold in 1923. EXP2 still exists today and is the oldest surviving Bentley.

 Initially, production of the Bentley 3.0 Litre was slow but they got the formula right and their cars proved to be luxurious, reliable and fast thus attracting buyers from the elite of society. it didn’t take long for the order books to be filled with names of wealthy and aristocratic clients, including Prince George (later the Duke of Kent), the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) and the Duke of York, later King George VI.

 Just like other manufactures in that period, Bentley supplied the engine, drive train, suspension and chassis, letting the client decide which coachbuilder they wanted to use to supply the body. Bentley offered three versions of their 3.0 Litre and they were identified by the colour of the badge on the radiator - the blue label, the red label and the green label. The blue label was the standard engine, the red label was powered by a higher compression engine and the green label was the high-performance model. Bentley had great confidence in their cars and offered a five year warranty on the blue and red label model. The green label, however, only came with a one year warranty because it really was a race car.

 The cars were also incredibly successful on the race track with Bentley achieving the ultimate success winning Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. The Bentley 3.0 Litre was able to beat the the much smaller and more nimble Bugattis, prompting Ettore Bugatti to call it "the fastest lorry in the world".

 The difficult economic times in the late 1920’s had a major impact on Bentley and they stopped motor racing soon after winning Le Mans in 1930 and ultimately fell into receivership in 1931. Rolls-Royce acquired the assets of Bentley in late 1931. In this period Bentley produced some fabulous motor cars including the 3.0 Litre, 4½ Litre, ‘Blower Bentley’, 6½ Litre and 8.0 Litre models that are all today highly sought after by enthusiasts and collectors all over the world. The first new Bentley produced following Rolls Royce’s acquisition was the Bentley 3½ Litre which evolved into the Bentley 4¼ Litre. Bentleys of this era are also known as Derby Bentleys as they were built at Rolls Royce’s factory located in Derby in the north of England.

 The Bentley 3.0 Litre was built from 1921 through until 1929 and in total 1,622 examples were built. This included three experimental models, 1,088 3.0 Litre models, 513 Speed Tourers and 18 Super Sports.

 The Bentley 4½ Litre was introduced in 1927 and remained in production until 1931. It was powered by a 4,398cc four-cylinder engine producing approximately 110 bhp, mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. The 4½ Litre quickly established a reputation for its performance, reliability and durability, both on the road and the race track. Its greatest motorsport success came in 1928 when Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin drove a 4½ Litre to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1929, a supercharged version, famously known as the 'Blower Bentley', was introduced. In total, approximately 665 naturally aspirated 4½ Litre Bentleys were built, along with a further 55 supercharged examples. Today, the 4½ Litre is one of the most desirable and sought-after of the original Cricklewood Bentleys.