Following the take-over of Bentley Motors Ltd. by Rolls-Royce Ltd., the first design from the Derby works to wear the Bentley name was a chassis geared to the sporting market with a 3,669cc engine and first deliveries were made in the last quarter of 1933. In spring 1936, deliveries of the 4,257cc version commenced and in late 1938, came the first of 201 of the so called ’overdrive’ cars with the gear ratios changed to 2.38:1 for 1st gear, 1.49:1 for 2nd, direct in 3rd and 0.85:1 for 4th. The production register found within CC4, reveals that most buyers opted for a sports saloon body and that Park Ward’s design proved the most popular with 822 produced.



A total of 2405 X 3.5 & 4.25 litre chassis were produced and in excess of 1700 of these are known to survive – a little over 70% of production! Unfortunately interrupted by the war, the Bentley Mk.V incorporated independent front suspension and was to be made available in standard & Corniche versions. No fewer than 10 test chassis were used for the development programme – one more than the number actually delivered to customers! One notable current owner is composer Andrew Lloyd Webber who purchased the car almost 30 years ago. Below: Will Morrison of MotorHistorica’s Park Ward sports saloon on chassis B170HK enjoyed a protracted rebuild in recent years. This car featured no fewer than four times in the Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. quarterly publication ‘Bentley Motors—On the Road’ and these may be seen in the book with the same title by this author.

Publisher: Complete Classics

Status: Out of Print (No Stock)

Binding: HBD