Bentley 3.5 Litre
Bentley 3½-litre and 4¼-litre | |
---|---|
Transmission | 4-speed manual |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 126 in (3,200 mm) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Cricklewood Bentleys |
Successor | Bentley Mark V |
The Bentley 3½ Litre (later enlarged to 4¼ Litre) was presented to the public in September 1933, shortly after the death of Henry Royce, and was the first new Bentley model following Rolls-Royce's acquisition of the Bentley brand in 1931.
Bentley sold only the drivable bare rolling chassis with engine and gearbox, scuttle and radiator, ready for coachbuilders to construct on it a body to the buyer's requirements. Many distributors ordered their preferred bodies as showroom stock to enable them to stock finished cars ready for immediate sale.
Bentleys of this era are known as Derby Bentleys because they were built in the Rolls-Royce factory located in
Chassis series A to F were 3½ Litre cars; G to L (excluding I) were 4¼ Litres, and the M series was the 4¼ Litre Overdrive chassis. Each series consisted of 100 chassis numbers, either odd or even. The numbers 13 and 113 in each series were not used, to avoid upsetting superstitious customers.
Market
From the outset, the car was intended to compete on quality and grace rather than sporting reputation which had been the cornerstone of the pre-1931 Bentley company. The cars retained the famous curved radiator shape based on earlier Bentley models, but in all meaningful respects they were clearly Rolls-Royces. Although disappointing some traditional customers, they were well received by many others and even
3½ Litre
Based on an experimental Rolls-Royce project "Peregrine" which was to have had a
A 4-speed
1177 3½ Litre cars were built, about half of them bodied by
A drophead 3½ Litre was briefly featured as James Bond's vehicle in the 1963 movie From Russia with Love.[3]
4¼ Litre
Beginning in March, 1936, a 4¼ Litre version of the car was offered as replacement for the 3½ Litre, in order to offset the increasing weight of coachwork and maintain the car's sporting image in the face of stiff competition. The engine was bored to 3½ in (88.9 mm) for a total of 4.3 L (4257 cc/259 in³). From 1938 the MR and MX series cars featured Marles steering and an overdrive gearbox. The model was replaced in 1939 by the MkV, but some cars were still finished and delivered during 1940–1941.
1234 4¼ Litre cars were built, with Park Ward remaining the most popular coachbuilder. Many cars were bodied in steel rather than the previous, more expensive, aluminium over ash frame construction.
A
Bentley Continental
Motorsport announced in March 1939 that the fixed head coupé designed by Paulin and built by Portout to the special order of André Embiricos is the prototype of a new Continental model in the Bentley range.[5]
The new production car would have high compression pistons and larger SU carburettors giving an extra 15 bhp (11 kW; 15 PS) output and its weight reduced from the standard car's by about 336 lb (152 kg) or 3 cwt. The maximum speed was expected to be 120 mph (193 km/h) and fuel consumption 26 mpg‑imp (11 L/100 km; 22 mpg‑US) at 60 mph (97 km/h).[5]
"Bentley must be justifiably proud of doing with a straightforward, push-rod engine what other makers cannot approach with overhead camshafts and blowers."[5]
Famous first owners
- Woolf Barnato, racing driver & former Bentley chairman (B121AE, B2DG, B6GA, B121GP)
- Prince Bira, racing driver and Olympic sailor (B29GP)
- Sir Malcolm Campbell, nine times World Land Speed Record holder (B141AE, B206GA, B22GA)
- Billy Cotton, bandleader (B125DG)
- George Eyston, three time World Land Speed Record holder (B24DG, B82GA)
- E.R. Hall, racing driver and Winter Olympian (B35AE, B106GA, B216GA) Entered car in 1934, 1935 and 1936 TT races on Ards Circuit
- Raymond Mays, racing driver (B125DG, B24GA, B144LS)
- Robert Montgomery, actor (B63DK)
- Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist (B130BL)
- Bernard Rubin, racing driver (B109CW)
- Anthony J Crowley, fictional character (NIAT RUC)
Racing
The Derby Bentley was not intended to be used as a racing car, unlike the earlier, pre-Rolls-Royce, cars built by
- A 3½-Litre (later 4¼-Litre) raced by E.R. Hall in the RAC Tourist Trophy (TT) in Ulsterin 1934, 1935 and 1936. It was the first competition car built at Rolls-Royce since the car built for Charles Rolls which he had driven to win the 1906 TT, and it was also their last.
- Hall also raced the 4¼-Litre car at Le Mans in 1950, becoming the first man to drive solo for the entire distance of the race.
- A 4¼-Litre with a streamlined-body by Pourtout of Paris for Greek racing driver A.M. Embiricos set a record of 115.05 mph (185.16 km/h) at Brooklands.
- The Embiricos car also raced at Le Mans in 1949, 1950 and 1951 becoming the first car ever to have finished that event three years in succession.
Further reading
- Alec Harvey-Bailey - Rolls-Royce - the Derby Bentleys (1984)
- Michael Ellman-Brown - Bentley, the Silent Sports Car 1931–1941 (1989) ISBN 0-901564-33-8
- Johnnie Green - Bentley - 50 years of the Marque (1969) ISBN 0-901564-00-1
- Ray Roberts - Bentley Specials & Special Bentleys (1990) ISBN 0-85429-699-9
- Rowbotham, William Arthur (1970). Silver Ghosts and Silver Dawn. London: Constable.
- Michael Sedgwick and Mark Gillies - A-Z of Cars of the 1930s (1989) ISBN 1-870979-38-9
References
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ "derbybentley.com". derbybentley.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "1935 Bentley 3½ Litre Drop Head Coupe Park Ward in "From Russia with Love, 1963"". IMCDb.org. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
- ^ "1937 Bentley 4¼ Litre Gurney Nutting 3-Position-Drophead Coupé [B129JY] in "Never Say Never Again, 1983"". IMCDb.org. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
- ^ a b c Rumblings, a new Bentley. Motorsport March 1939, page 11