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1927 Bentley 6½ Litre |
Chassis No. TW2703
Engine No. TW2707
Registration No. YE 3752 |
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May
2015 |
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2007 |
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1927 6½ litre
Bentley TW2703 with fitted Speed Six
engine LR2798 S and Le Mans sports
body; full restoration by the late
Tony Townsend for Laurie O’
Neil circa 1972
Chassis No.: TW2703; Engine No.: LR2798;
Reg. No.: YE 3752
Expires 21/01/2007
The history of the original Bentley
Company, founded in 1919 by W.O. Bentley
until its demise in 1931 when it was
taken over by Rolls-Royce under somewhat
covert circumstances, has been the
subject of many books and documentaries.
The reputation and sporting successes
gained, particularly in long distance
racing was an extraordinary achievement
for a marque in existence for a mere
12 years. The introduction of the
6½ Litre in 1925 was W.O's entry as
a competitor in the lucrative town
carriage market and was seen as a
direct threat to Rolls-Royce and the
Phantom I. The later introduction
of a sporting version must have been
on W.O's mind and along came the Speed
Six, the most successful sporting
car made by the company and W.O's
personal favourite of all his cars.
In 1929 the 24-hour race at Le Mans
was a Bentley walk-over, the cars
finishing in the first four places,
the winning Speed Six known as 'Old
No. 1' covering no less than 1,767
miles in 24 hours, an extraordinary
performance over the appalling road
surfaces at Le Mans at that time.
Back in England only two weeks later,
the same car came first in the six-hour
race at Brooklands. After more successes
'Old No.1', which must be the most
famous of the original factory cars,
was fitted with a single-seater body
and an 8-litre engine. It was entered
for the Brookland 500 miles race in
September 1932 by the brothers Jack
& Clive Dunfee. It had been lapping
at 127 m.p.h and when Clive Dunfee
took over he went too high on the
bank trying to pass another competitor,
got into difficulties, hit a tree
and shot over the embarkment. Sadly
Clive Dunfee was thrown out and died
instantly. Bentley cars of the vintage
period competed with great success
all over the world and continue to
do so today. The Bentley Drivers Club
has branches world-wide and regularly
organises competitive events of all
kinds.
This superb Bentley was purchased
un-restored but complete with it's
factory Speed Six engine from the
late Tony Townsend of Elmdown Engineering
fame by the renowned Sydney motoring
enthusiast, Mr Laurie O'Neil in 1971.
Townsend was then commissioned to
provide a complete ground up restoration
and fitment of a Le Mans body accurately
copied from the original Speed Six
team car, 'Old No 1', referred to
above. Illustrating Townsend's devotion
to accuracy Mr O'Neil, at one stage
commented that he didn't like the
shape of the front mudguards to which
Townsend responded that they were
an exact copy of the team car and
should remain. In 1971 many of the
original technicians who worked on
the original cars were still active.
The mechanical restoration of this
car was carried out at the end of
an era when work such as the white-metalling
of bearings was conducted by the old
hands. Many of these skills have subsequently
became something of a 'lost trade.'
Mr O'Neil, in a recent interview with
Bonhams & Goodman, has provided
some fascinating insights from this
period of conversations and correspondence
with Townsend. When Mr O'Neill acquired
the car Townsend told him 'the 6½
Litre engine in my car blew up in
about 1929. As it was still under
warranty the car was sent back to
Bentley who for reasons unbeknown
replaced the engine with the genuine
factory speed Six engine currently
in the car'. Although there is no
further evidence for or against this
claim, there is a record that when
the owner of TW2703 applied for membership
of the Bentley Driver's Club in England
in 1946 this car was fitted with it's
current Speed Six engine.
[Information received after the catalogue
went to the printer confirms that
this engine number LR2798 also includes
the letter, 'S'. Records show that
the inclusion of the letter 'S' suggests
that this Speed Six engine was fitted
by the works at Cricklewood. Also
recently discovered, the records show
that the 1946 application for Bentley
Driver's Club membership by the then
owner referred to above included engine
number LR2798 S].
Mr. O'Neill also said, 'Townsend told
me, that W.O. Bentley visited him
(Townsend) on several occasion and
even provided him with copies of the
blueprints for the 8-litre model'.
We can speculate that Townsend may
have received information about this
car from W.O. himself. Mr O'Neil now
in his eighties claims that this Bentley
was his finest car. Apparently over
forty years ago he was on a rally
in New Zealand driving his 4½ Litre
Bentley when an Englishman flew past
in a Speed Six. The rally was over
five days duration and each evening
the competitors would meet at their
hotel and he got to know the owner
of the Speed Six and was taken for
a drive in it. 'I was sold immediately'
he said, 'I had to have one'. O'Neill
was then recommended to Tony Townsend
in England and the result is this
magnificent car seen today. TW2703
is documented in 'Bentley the Vintage
Years' by Michael Hay and in records
at the Bentley Driver's Club, UK.
The Speed Six is considered by sporting
and competition car enthusiasts to
be one of the greatest cars ever made
particularly during the 'golden era'
of motor racing, the roaring twenties.
Cars with Speed Six specifications
never appear at auction in Australia
and rarely anywhere internationally.
This exceptional car is in superb
restored condition and is ready to
drive providing a truly extraordinary
motoring experience. |
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Source:
Bonhams and Goodman
Posted: Apr 11, 2007 |
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2006 |
In
Australia in 2006 / Owned by a BDC member |
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Source:
Bonhams and Goodman
Posted: Apr 11, 2007 |
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EARLIEST
RECORD OF HISTORICAL FACTS & INFORMATION |
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Chassis No. |
TW2703 |
Engine No. |
TW2707 |
Registration
No. |
YE 3752 |
Date of Delivery: |
Feb 1927 |
Type of Body: |
Saloon |
Coachbuilder: |
Park Ward |
Type of Car: |
ST3 |
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First Owner: |
SHERIFF A |
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More Info:
Michael Hay, in his book Bentley:
The Vintage Years, 1997, states:
"BS box. Park Ward body no. 2962.
Saloon/landaulette, black lamps/nickel
rims, grey/black. Utility, now Vanden
Plas 4 seater eng LR2798 ex LR2794." |
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Posted: Mar 01, 2007 |
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Submit
more information on this car |
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BACK |
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Sep 30, 2020 - Info and photograph received from Simon Hunt for Chassis No. RL3439 |
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Sep 30, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Dick Clay for Chassis No. 147 |
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Sep 29, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Ernst Jan Krudop for his Chassis No. AX1651 |
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Sep 28, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Lars Hedborg
for his Chassis No. KL3590 |
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Sep 25, 2020 - Info and photograph added for Registration No. XV 3207 |
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Sep 24, 2020 - Info and photograph added for Registration No. YM 7165 |
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