1929 Bentley chassis RL3428 sold for £525,000

Update:

The 1929 Bentley 4½-Liter Tourer was offered at a Bonhams’ auction on April 7, 2019, in Chichester, Goodwood. This car was presented in one of the top lots with an estimate of £600,000 - £800,000. It was sold for £525,000.

 

 

“Early success in the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, when Bentleys finished second, fourth, and fifth to take the Team Prize, led to the introduction of the TT Replica (later known as the Speed Model). However, by the middle of the decade the 3-Liter’s competitiveness was on the wane and this, together with the fact that too many customers had been tempted to fit unsuitably heavy coachwork to the excellent 3-Liter chassis rather than accept the expense and complexity of Bentley's 6½-liter ‘Silent Six,’ led to the introduction of the ‘4½,’” stated the auction house.

 

Some of the important details of the present car is that it has an original chassis, engine, gearbox, body, and registration. It is in a single family ownership since 1939 (80 years); it is exceptionally well documented; it has been well maintained throughout its life and it was recently recommissioned by Brewster Mudie Ltd. The coachwork of this unique car is done by Vanden Plas.

 

Bonhams added to the information about this car and mentioned in its release, “The original 4½-Liter car, nicknamed by the team ‘Old Mother Gun’ and driven by Frank Clement and Leslie Callingham, promptly set the fastest race lap of 73.41mph before being eliminated in the infamous ‘White House Crash’ multiple pile-up. The 4½-Liter was produced for four years, all but eleven of the 662 cars made being built on the 3-Liter’s ‘Long Standard,’ 10' 10"-wheelbase chassis. Purchasers of the 4½-Liter model were, in common with those of all vintage-period Bentleys, free to specify their preferences from a very considerable range of mechanical and electrical equipment, in addition to whatever body style and coachbuilder might be required.”

 

The auction house added, “The new 4½-Liter model effectively employed the chassis, transmission and brakes of the 3-Liter, combined with an engine that was in essence two-thirds of the six-cylinder 6½-liter unit. Thus the new four-cylinder motor retained the six’s 100x140mm bore/stroke and Bentley’s familiar four-valves-per-cylinder fixed — “head architecture, but reverted to the front-end vertical camshaft drive of the 3-Liter. Bentley Motors lost no time in race-proving its new car.”

 

 

Source: 1929 Bentley Gets Top Lot at Bonhams