In 1929, Dr. William Leib, an American
physician residing at 118 Hillwood, Hillsborough, California
ordered a new Speed 6 Bentley. The chassis number SB2769
came with engine number SH2729. He ordered his car through
Rootes Ltd. It is an 11-6 chassis, the shortest
available for speed sixes and came with a 13/50 differential
and a short steering column. The Bentley factory records
in the BDC archives show that the car was for export
and that the body was built in France.
To clothe this wonderful chassis, Mr. Lieb chose one
of the pre-eminent French coach-building firms to design
and build the body. Saoutchik Cromos Paris Neuilly
was that selected builder who designed and built the
unique three-position drop head coupe.
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An
early photograph of SB2768, perhaps when new |
This truly one-of-a-kind motorcar,
despite its obvious aesthetic appeal and collector importance,
is almost entirely a historic mystery. There is virtually
no documentation available that this writer could unearth.
This includes contacting enthusiasts in France that
have familiarity or expertise with Saoutchik.
The Bentley Motors factory records, which normally yield
much information about a car, its early owners and early
mechanical history, are amazingly devoid of detail.
There is only the original purchasers name and
address and the most basic chassis specifications
Based on a verbal description provided to SB2769s
current owner, the original paint was cobalt blue with
light leather interior and light canvas. SB2769 had
its original paint and interior up until its first and
only restoration in the 1980s while in the ownership
of its third owner, Robert Martin of Texas, USA.
What with the scanty traditional documentation, most
of the cars historic details are derived from
a copy of the one article that appeared in a 1952 issue
of Road & Track magazine. A photocopy of
the original article has survived. It is supplemented
by the recollections of the current owner.
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SB2769
while in the ownership of Don Blank, Burlingame,
California |
SB2569 is a very low mileage car having
traveled only 11,400 miles since new. There have been
only 4 owners over the 78 years since the cars original
date of delivery. They are 1929, Dr. William Leib; late
1940s or early 1950s, Don Blank, Burlingame,
California; early 1980s, Robert Martin, Houston,
Texas; May 1999, Lawrence Smith, Wichita, Kansas.
While in the ownership of Mr. Martin, SB2769 was completely
restored in the UK. This writer attempted to contact
Mr. Martin to no avail. Consequently, all information
about SB2769 during Mr. Martins ownership remains
a mystery unless readers can shed light on the history
of this car.
As was noted earlier, SB2769 was painted a shade of
cobalt blue with the polished aluminum swaging line
around the outer edges of all wings. The swaging lines
were exaggerated on the inner portions of the front
wings and give a very attractive styling flair to the
frontal view of the body.
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SB2769
front details |
The subtle styling accents are so typical
of the premier French coachbuilders. Yet, the body of
SB2769 is restrained when compared with the very exaggerated
bodies of some Delages, Talbot-Lagos and Delahayes amongst
others. Such swoopy designs were typically
crafted by the great houses of Saoutchik, Figoni et
Falaschi and Le Tourneau et Marchand in the 1930s
and 40s.
The coachwork tastefully blends traditional vertical
British styling elements such as radiator, door, window
and hood lines, carriage-type door handles with the
French accents. The door bottoms are nicely rounded
so as to break up the severity of too many horizontal
lines in the lower portion of the body work. This body
is one of the earliest on a vintage Bentley to include
an integral boot as part of the coach work. The look
is very nicely balanced from all perspectives.
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SB2769
rear ¾ view while in the ownership of Don
Blank |
There is a complete set of luggage
as originally fitted in the boot. The original cases
remain with the car to this day.
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SB2769
boot with fitted luggage from 1952 Road &
Track article |
The split windscreen is a shallow V
and is slightly slanted. Both sides open for ventilation.
There are two side-mounted spares. The chassis side
rails are covered with louvered valance panels to finish
SB2769s clean appearance.
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SB2769
currently owned by Lawrence Smith |
There are four tubular front and four rear bumpers
with cast aluminum tips. All of the exterior bright
work is nickel silver. At the center of the rear bumper
is a Saoutchik coach builders badge. There are
also badges on the valence panel and the door sills.
The original color scheme, accented with polished aluminum
swaging lines and nickel silver trim with the light
canvas top, must have been striking indeed.
SB2769s interior, although containing all of
the instrumentation traditionally supplied with the
chassis, departs from the traditional finishes in a
material way. The most obvious difference is dashboard,
dashboard capping rail and the door capping rails. They
are all finished in nickel silver.
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SB2769
interior and dashboard from 1952 Road & Track
article |
The interior is finished in magnolia leather with the
canvas hood fully lined with a fitted beige wool headliner.
All together, a very elegant design fitted into a traditional
British clubby leather and wool atmosphere.
It all comes together very tastefully as the fine French
coachbuilders can do.
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Click
for larger view |
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Contemporary views of SB2769s
interior |
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Although the mileage by the 1980s was very low,
the decision to restore SB2769 was made and the car
was cosmetically restored. It is assumed that the mechanical
systems required little attention. The paint color was
changed from the original cobalt blue to a medium brown.
The interior and canvas colors remained much the same
as when new.
The head lamps were changed to period Marchals
and a matching Marchal spot lamp was added making for
a very striking appearance. Subsequent to the restoration
in the UK, SB2769 was displayed at Kensington Gardens.
There is a period photograph documenting its appearance
then with a ribbon hanging from its radiator cap.
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SB2569
at Kensington Gardens |
Wheel discs, spare tire covers and a second matching
Marchal spot lamp were added by the current owner. All
of these changes, although not originally supplied as
best can be determined, add to the finished appearance
of the car today. They make for a very refined, somewhat
art-deco look and is an utter pleasure to view. This
is, quite simply, one of the most handsome vintage Bentleys
ever created. The current owner displayed SB2769 in
August of 2001 at the Pebble Beach Concours and was
honored with a First-in-Class award.
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On
the winners stand at Pebble Beach in 2001 Photo
by Pebble Beach Concours |
SB2769, it is a stunning one-of-a-kind motorcar. It is
a significant part of its owners collection of
important cars and is occasionally driven. The appearance
of the car as it appears today is shown in the following
photographs.
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