1937 Bentley 4¼ All Weather ‘Wide Body’ Tourer by Vanden Plas Lot Number326 RegistrationDXM 229 Chassis NumberB179JY Engine Number29BJ Odometer reading23,657 miles Estimate£98,000 - £134,000 Print details Send this to a friend 16 more images Comprehensively restored in the early 90’s A rare ‘wide body’ Vanden Plas body Detailed history file with original Bentley build sheets Featured in ‘Classic & Sports Car’ in 1992 & 1995 Bentley’s racing exploits in the 1920s have become part of motor racing folklore, and sporting success plus the extravagant lifestyles of the ‘Bentley Boys’ meant that the marque was never out of the public eye in the late 1920s. However, the cars were expensive, and even a prestigious reputation cannot save a car company if customers stop buying them. This is what befell Bentley; the Great Depression, beginning in 1929, meant that there were far fewer potential customers, and this, coupled to the expensive development of the new 8-Litre model, led the company to enter receivership in 1931. An entity called the British Central Equitable Trust won the resulting sealed-bid auction, fending off a rival bid from Napier. The British Central Equitable Trust turned out to be a front for Rolls-Royce – a fact that nobody, not even W.O Bentley himself – was aware of at the time. With the purchase came Bentley’s showrooms and factory, as well as the services of W.O himself, although he would leave for Lagonda in 1935. Rolls-Royce’s intention was that Bentley would become the sporting companion to its range. All of Bentley’s existing models were cancelled, the Cricklewood factory sold, and production stopped for two years. When it restarted again, at the Rolls-Royce works in Derby, it was to produce the 3½ litre – the ‘Silent Sports Car’. This model, together with its 4¼ litre sibling that came later, shared its underpinnings with the Rolls-Royce 20/25 and 25/30, but with a tuned engine and a lighter, ‘double-drop’ design chassis that kept the profile low. All Derby Bentleys, as they came to be known, left the factory as driveable rolling chassis, with bodies then built by a wide variety of external coachbuilders to the individual customer’s specifications. Most of these bodies were of a sportier nature than those which adorned its sister models from Rolls-Royce, and this, together with the superb performance from the 6-cylinder engines – in 4¼ litre form producing around 125bhp, but also offering excellent refinement – meant the cars really did live up to their early advertising slogan – ‘The Silent Sports-Car’. This stunning 4¼ litre model was delivered new on 19th May 1937 to a Miss Doris Skinner, an astute business lady, who specified a Vanden Plas all weather tourer coachwork in unusual ‘wide body’ form. We are led to believe this was due to her partner being rather rotund and thus requiring then extra four inches of cockpit and larger passenger seat which the body provided. However, to avoid this looking bulky, the sides of the bonnet were swept back at a broader angle to meet the wider skuttle - a Vanden Plas modification that can still be seen today. During the Second World War Doris gave the car to her brother, a pig farmer, who converted it to an estate, believed to be due to petrol rationing allowances for utility vehicles. The car stayed in this form until 1970 when it was then laid up in a barn until 1992 when it was purchased by Benetton Formula 1 engineer and Bentley enthusiast Robin Grant. When Robin first purchased the car, Classic and Sports Car magazine featured a half page editorial about the car and his plans for it, and later featured the car in a full five-page spread in the February 1995 edition, a copy of which is included in the comprehensive history file. With invoices amounting to nearly £150,000, during the early 1990’s Robin fully restored the car to its former body, until it sported once again its full ‘All-Weather tourer’ body by Vanden Plas; a wide body with large doors, wind-up window
1937 Bentley 4¼ All Weather ‘Wide Body’ Tourer by Vanden Plas Lot Number326 RegistrationDXM 229 Chassis NumberB179JY Engine Number29BJ Odometer reading23,657 miles Estimate£98,000 - £134,000 Print details Send this to a friend 16 more images Comprehensively restored in the early 90’s A rare ‘wide body’ Vanden Plas body Detailed history file with original Bentley build sheets Featured in ‘Classic & Sports Car’ in 1992 & 1995 Bentley’s racing exploits in the 1920s have become part of motor racing folklore, and sporting success plus the extravagant lifestyles of the ‘Bentley Boys’ meant that the marque was never out of the public eye in the late 1920s. However, the cars were expensive, and even a prestigious reputation cannot save a car company if customers stop buying them. This is what befell Bentley; the Great Depression, beginning in 1929, meant that there were far fewer potential customers, and this, coupled to the expensive development of the new 8-Litre model, led the company to enter receivership in 1931. An entity called the British Central Equitable Trust won the resulting sealed-bid auction, fending off a rival bid from Napier. The British Central Equitable Trust turned out to be a front for Rolls-Royce – a fact that nobody, not even W.O Bentley himself – was aware of at the time. With the purchase came Bentley’s showrooms and factory, as well as the services of W.O himself, although he would leave for Lagonda in 1935. Rolls-Royce’s intention was that Bentley would become the sporting companion to its range. All of Bentley’s existing models were cancelled, the Cricklewood factory sold, and production stopped for two years. When it restarted again, at the Rolls-Royce works in Derby, it was to produce the 3½ litre – the ‘Silent Sports Car’. This model, together with its 4¼ litre sibling that came later, shared its underpinnings with the Rolls-Royce 20/25 and 25/30, but with a tuned engine and a lighter, ‘double-drop’ design chassis that kept the profile low. All Derby Bentleys, as they came to be known, left the factory as driveable rolling chassis, with bodies then built by a wide variety of external coachbuilders to the individual customer’s specifications. Most of these bodies were of a sportier nature than those which adorned its sister models from Rolls-Royce, and this, together with the superb performance from the 6-cylinder engines – in 4¼ litre form producing around 125bhp, but also offering excellent refinement – meant the cars really did live up to their early advertising slogan – ‘The Silent Sports-Car’. This stunning 4¼ litre model was delivered new on 19th May 1937 to a Miss Doris Skinner, an astute business lady, who specified a Vanden Plas all weather tourer coachwork in unusual ‘wide body’ form. We are led to believe this was due to her partner being rather rotund and thus requiring then extra four inches of cockpit and larger passenger seat which the body provided. However, to avoid this looking bulky, the sides of the bonnet were swept back at a broader angle to meet the wider skuttle - a Vanden Plas modification that can still be seen today. During the Second World War Doris gave the car to her brother, a pig farmer, who converted it to an estate, believed to be due to petrol rationing allowances for utility vehicles. The car stayed in this form until 1970 when it was then laid up in a barn until 1992 when it was purchased by Benetton Formula 1 engineer and Bentley enthusiast Robin Grant. When Robin first purchased the car, Classic and Sports Car magazine featured a half page editorial about the car and his plans for it, and later featured the car in a full five-page spread in the February 1995 edition, a copy of which is included in the comprehensive history file. With invoices amounting to nearly £150,000, during the early 1990’s Robin fully restored the car to its former body, until it sported once again its full ‘All-Weather tourer’ body by Vanden Plas; a wide body with large doors, wind-up window
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