One-of-One 1939 Bentley Mark V Corniche Takes to the Road for the First Time in 84 Years

Bentley called the 3½ Litre "The Silent Sports Car." And it did make sense. It had out-of-this-world insulation at the time, it was smooth, fast, refined, and it was a dream in terms of elegance and ride comfort. Bentley produced more than 2,400 such cars in Derby between 1933 and 1939, with around 500 being manufactured per year. The engine generated 120 horsepower, which was quite impressive at the time.

90 years after the Bentley 3 1/2 Litre, commonly known as the Derby Bentley, was first unveiled, 60 Bentleys of the Derby era met at the Dream Factory. A total of 117 Derby Bentleys were there, convoying to the production center in Crewe. The event was set up by The Silent Sports Car Club, dedicated to the Derby Bentley. More than 100 guests went on a tour of the campus to explore Bentley’s newly refurbished Heritage Collection and see the Mulliner Workshops with their own eyes.

They also got the chance to look at the 1934 Bentley 3½ Litre with coachwork by Thrupp & Maberley. The model was on display in the newly opened Lineage area. That is where eight pre-war automobiles of the Heritage Collection get the admiration looks.

The crown jewel is the recently restored one-of-one 1939 Mark V Corniche. The car never made it to production. But the Corniche stands as the model which linked the pre-war Ebiricos 4¼ Litre with the R Type Continental of 1952.

The one-off has been recently re-registered and, for the first time in 84 years, it returned to the road.

Back in the 1930s, more than 40 independent coach builders provided bespoke bodywork for the model. Many of their works arrived in Cheshire to mark the anniversary moment. Chassis number B15AE, one of the two original launch cars manufactured in September 1933 was there. And so was chassis number 3-B-50, the only survivor of four experimental six-cylinder saloons from 1939.

The 3½ Litre was followed by the improved 4½ Litre, with a quarter of an inch wider cylinder bores, output raised to 125 horsepower, and few visual tweaks, plus a top speed increased from 90 mph (145 kph) to 96 mph (154 kph). All of these came for an extra 50 pounds. By 1939, Bentley had already produced more 4½ Litre examples than 3½ Litres.

These were the first cars that Bentley produced under the Rolls-Royce ownership. It was the era of iconic one-offs, and this 1939 MkV Corniche is one of them. Chassis number B53AE, registration number AXB3, the four-door saloon was delivered by dealer Jack Barclay to its first owner, Alex Mitchel of Mulligan Castle in Scotland, in early 1934. He kept the car until World War I started.

For a while, the car was completely lost. It was discovered three decades later, in 1968, in a barn in East Otis, Massachusetts. It was purchased by Charles H. Wolfe of Lancaster, Philadelphia, in 1987. In 2004, he sold the car to the care of Bentley Motors. Now, that particular car went out to stretch its legs for the first time in 84 years.

2023 also marks the 20th anniversary of the almighty W12 that Bentley is retiring. The power plant has already vanished from the lineup of the refreshed Bentayga.