1952' Bentley Mark VI 'Special'

A superbly engineered bespoke 'Special'.

To be offered by Silverstone Auctions at the ‘Lancaster Classic Motor Show’ at 2:00pm on Saturday 9th November 2019 at the NEC, near Birmingham (B40 1NT). Viewing is available from 10:00am until 6:30pm on Friday 8th November and from 9:00am on the morning of the sale day. For further images & information please visit Silverstone Auctions website and get in touch with classic car specialist Joe Watts.

Lot number: 244 - Estimate: £80,000 - £100,000 (+buyer's premium of 15% including VAT @ 20%)

- Inspired by the pre-war Bentley Racers and recently completed
- Based on a 1952 Mark VI Bentley and built by highly respected Jaguar specialists DJB Engineering
- Mighty B81 6.8-litre straight-eight engine mated to a silky smooth Bentley gearbox
- Elegantly proportioned with the engine and gearbox set back and clothed in bespoke aluminium bodywork
- Lots of engineering details, exactingly constructed and properly shaken-down
- The sounds, smell and speed of a period Bentley racer

When Bentley was founded in 1919 in London, W.O.'s aim was simple: "To build a fast car, a good car, the best in its class." His earliest motor cars – the 3-litre, the 4½-litre, the Speed Six and the supercharged Blower – were absolute world-beaters, and Bentley's performance at Le Mans is the stuff of legend. Their first entry in 1923 saw them finish fourth, and by the following year they had crept up to first. Soon the marque was unstoppable at Le Mans – its reliability and performance undeniable – with Bentleys taking first place in 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930.

Some of the cars that achieved these feats are still around today and quite rightly command much respect and heavy premiums, on the rare occasions they do come to the market. For a number of years now there have been a handful of very skilled specialists producing cars in faithful homage to these great Bentley racers, often bringing together original parts, new materials and engineering prowess, sometimes themselves commanding in excess of £250,000. These sorts of car should always have a distinct ‘Bentley flavour’, both mechanically and stylistically and perform as closely as possible to the original examples.

The car presented here is in that same vein and offers an owner a real taste of that unique and intoxicating Bentley spirit. The car was conceived and built by a highly skilled engineer, who has fully restored many Bentleys and Jaguars over the years, as part of DJB Engineering in Northamptonshire. This Bentley Special was a long time in the planning and the execution has been a labour of love.

Based on a 1952 Mark VI Bentley, utilising the chassis and gearbox, much specialist engineering has gone into making this bespoke car. The chassis has been carefully modified to accept a mighty straight-8 engine, whilst retaining its all-important ‘cruciform’ ensuring its inherent strength and integrity - a Bentley chassis characteristic - are not compromised. The 6.75-litre engine was sourced especially for the car and is an ex-War Department unit, understood to have been overhauled/serviced by The Ministry in the 1960s. Now fully rebuilt and detailed, it runs and performs as well as you’d expect, having found its most exciting application at the heart of this Special. Likewise, the purposeful rear axle and differential were carefully selected for their strength and to be able to utilise hydraulic brakes. With the modified chassis, the aesthetics of the car were immediately more pleasing to the eye, with elegant proportions in hand-built aluminium. Painted and trimmed to an equally high standard, with a tailored tonneau, this Special is ready to go.

There really is an abundance of engineering and visual detail evident in this remarkable special and it needs appreciating in the metal. Elegant and wonderfully evocative, we feel that W.O. would certainly approve.

(photographs courtesy of Chris Frosin Photography, used with thanks)

Chassis number: B54PV
Registration number: TVV 850
Engine number: B27P