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Former Scottish police owned Bentley Le Mans fetched US$ 1,457,500 at auction
The stunning Bentley Le Mans Speed Six once belonged to the City of Edinburgh Police and was used to chase villains in the Scottish capital in the 1930s.
Welsh First World War hero Lt Col Ernest Helme was the car's first owner, buying it new from HM Bentley & Partners in London in May 1930. He clocked up 18,000 miles in little more than a year haring back and forth between Kensington and the Gower Peninsula before part-exchanging it for a new model in 1932.
The next owner was an R Whitson of Glasgow, although Bentley historian Michael Hay has established the Speed Six was later used by the Edinburgh police.
After being founded as the world's first citywide police force in 1805, the mobile unit was set up in 1926 by long-serving chief constable Roderick Ross.
The unit was hampered at first by the lack of quality and power of its handful of vehicles, a problem that would have been resolved by the purchase of the six-and-a-half litre Bentley.
The Speed Six was then sold to an RG Weddell in 1946 and fitted a new lightweight body by Riverlee Motor Bodies of Birmingham, before fetching up in America in the 1960s.
It then passed into Norwegian ownership and finally returned to the States 21 years ago via the renowned British Bentley dealer, Stanley Mann.
The current owner has spent tens of thousands of dollars on maintenance to keep the car on the road as a long distance tourer.
In its sale catalogue, Bonhams noted: "As recorded in the latest edition of Hay's Bentley The Vintage Years 1919-1931, the Speed Six is understood to have remained in Scotland for some time and was used by the Edinburgh City Police in the 1930s – one might well pity the thief with two tons of Bentley chasing after them, it must have proved quite a deterrent!"
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Found on Bonhams website on June 27, 2018
Sold for US$ 1,457,500 inc. premium
Lot 89
18 Jan 2018, 11:00 MST
The Scottsdale Auction
Scottsdale, The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
1930 Bentley Speed Six 'Le Mans Replica' Tourer
Coachwork in the style of Vanden Plas
Chassis no. LR 2787 ~ Engine no. LR 2791
Ex-E. Ann Klein
Matching numbers drivetrain
Expertly restored by Stanley Mann
- 6,597cc SOHC Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
- 4 Overhead Per Cylinder
- 180bhp at 3,500rpm
- 4-Speed 'C' Gearbox
- Front and Rear Leaf Spring Suspension
- Four-Wheel Drum Brakes with Servo Assist
- Matching drivetrain, chassis/engine numbers
- Genuine Speed Six Bentley ready for international motoring events
- Previously owned by Ann Klein, offered from long term private ownership
- Accompanied by substantial history file including copies of factory records
- Considerable expense spent on recent maintenance
THE SPEED SIX BENTLEY
'It is extraordinarily difficult to explain in words or writing the exact fascination of a big, fast car of the type so ably represented by the big Bentley speed model.' The Autocar on the Bentley Speed Six, September 5th, 1930.
In name, presence and sheer looks the Le Mans Speed Six is unquestionably of the greatest cars of its era and was from day one. Although the 6½-Litre had been conceived as a touring car to compete with Rolls-Royce's New Phantom, in Speed Six form it proved admirably suited to competition: in 1929 Barnato/Birkin's Speed Six won the Le Mans 24 Hour Race ahead of a trio of 4½-Litre Bentleys and Barnato/Kidston repeated the feat in the following year's Grand Prix d'Endurance at the Sarthe circuit ahead of similarly-mounted Clement/Watney. Small wonder then, that the fast yet refined 6½-Litre Speed Six was W O Bentley's favorite car.
Walter Owen Bentley established Bentley Motors in 1919 in the North London suburb of Cricklewood, though deliveries did not begin until 1921. The first model, a 3-litre car, was powered by a four-cylinder, single overhead camshaft engine with four valves per cylinder. It was a mechanical theme perpetuated in the greatly refined six-cylinder 6½-Litre model of 1926. The need for a larger car had resulted from Bentley's customers specifying bodies of a size not envisaged when the 3-Litre was conceived, a factor only partially addressed by the introduction of the Long Standard chassis in 1923. The 6½-Litre was produced for four years, during which time 544 chassis were completed, 182 of these to Speed Six specification. But the survival rate has not been good, and by the late 1990s only 185 of all types could be accounted for.
THE MOTORCAR OFFERED
The fabulous example we offer here is documented to have been retailed new through H.M. Bentley & Partners in May 1930, and sold new to Lt. Col. Ernest Helme DSO of Kensington's Prince's Gate in London. As new it sported the very fashionable lightweight 'British Flexible Saloon' bodywork by R. Harrison & Sons, which the patriotic Welsh war hero no doubt enjoyed haring between London and the beautiful Gower Peninsula on the south west welsh coast. An accrual of more than 18000 miles was already logged by the middle of 1931, including the inevitable minor incident.
In 1932 Helme parted with LR 2787, almost certainly part exchanging it for his next Bentley, an 8 Liter series car. At this point it transferred from Welsh to Scottish ownership, heading north to R. Whitson of Glasgow. As recorded in the latest edition of Hay's Bentley The Vintage Years 1919-1931, the Speed Six is understood to have remained in Scotland for some time and was used by the Edinburgh City Police in the 1930s – one might well pity the thief with 2 tons of Bentley chasing after them, it must have proved quite a deterrent! After that it is listed as selling to an R.E.G. Weddell in 1946 and gaining an updated 4 light 4 door body by Riverlee Motor Bodies of Birmingham.
By the 1960s, the Speed Six had crossed the Atlantic and arrived in the burgeoning stable of one of the foremost exponents of WO Bentleys in America, Ann Klein of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania. There it would be one of no less than 14 of these cars in her garage as recorded by the Rolls-Royce Owners Club in 1966, including 4 Speed Sixes, and two 'Blowers'.
From Ann, the car migrated to Scandinavia and into Norwegian ownership. It was in this era and in keeping with the boom of values of these cars in the 1980s that the car was not surprisingly rebodied to the ultra-desirable Le Mans guise. Unquestionably a well-executed rebuild, with its body believed to be by the well-known British company H&H, the car has all the aesthetic hallmarks of the famed Team Cars. A FIVA Identity pass was granted for the car in 1996.
More than 21 years ago, the current owner inquired with noted UK Vintage Bentley dealer Stanley Mann as he was set on wanting such a car for long distance touring. A deal was hatched, and the car returned to America.
Over the course of two decades of ownership the car has been regularly campaigned and thoroughly enjoyed. Its keeper has carefully charted maintenance of the car, corresponding regularly with known suppliers for parts when necessary and commissioning work when needed with known experts. In recent years that work has been entrusted to D & D Classic Auto of Covington, Ohio, and included attention to the engine and transmission with bills on file to the tune of nearly $100,000.
Vintage Bentleys have their own individual character and a following of numerous enthusiasts around the globe who keep the spirit of the 'Roaring Twenties' Bentley Boys alive with racing and fast road tours, such as the North American Vintage Bentley club. For long distance tours, a Speed Six with their effortless power and stable road manners and presence is one of the most suitable rides, making this excellent car a perfect choice for such events.
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