West Coast Classics are proud to present an absolutely exceptional and extraordinarily example of this 1949 4.25L 6 cyl Bentley Mark VI sedan.
Bentleys first post-war model, the Mark VI featured an updated version of the company's pre-war six-cylinder engine, now with a high-lift camshaft and dual SU carburetors for more horsepower and known as the Silent Sports Car with a factory-built Standard Steel Saloon body.
Today the saloon presents as an absolutely exceptionally tidy and well-sorted driver, with recent mechanical inspection with a new water pump and adjusted carbs etc, wearing an older restoration in its original Dark Navy Blue color that would still be pride of show anywhere. Notably, the interior, swathed in it's all original Light Gray with Dark Blue piping Connolly leather with beautiful rich woodwork, is particularly comfortable and sumptuous. Further, the car is offered with full sets of road and hand tools, as well as its original handbook.
The Livery for this car was finished in a very attractive color combination, a very Dark Navy Blue color exterior with a dark Red coachline and with a a sumptuous 'Light Gray & Blue Piping' leather interior. The car has lovely original timber with 'Widow's Peak' door sill design, original R70 Lucas center driving light, classical razor edge design, closed rear quarters, a sliding rear sunroof, painted matching wheel discs with chrome centers and complete hand and road tools and it's original owner's handbook.
In 1946 Bentley introduced the Mark VI which stayed in production until 1952 with just over 5,200 examples built in total. The Mark VI's were large and impressive and marked the first automobile completely constructed by Rolls Royce and signified their desire to move towards a 'Standardized' body construction. Prior to this all Rolls Royce & Bentley's were provided only a rolling chassis to the commissioned coachbuilders. The vehicle was then outfitted under the directions of the individual buyer.
The car has the legendary Bentley 4257cc (4.25 litre) F-Head inline six cylinder engine with twin SU carburetors and aluminum cylinder head. Power was sent to the rear courtesy of a 4 speed manual gearbox with a single plate clutch and synchromesh on 2,3 and top. Top speed is around 94 mph. Servo assisted drum brakes provided the stopping power and the suspension were independent with coil springs (still wrapped in their original factory leather buckled straps!)
The car drives extraordinarily well with the very smooth shifting original 4 speed manual transmission matched to the original 4.25L 6 cylinder engine for an extremely strong and responsive drive and with the car driving as straight as an arrow with no strange road wobbles, shakes or rattles, a truly remarkable and daily driver with supremely smooth and easy transmission shifts in all gears! The car has adjustable ride control, Lucas fog lights, sealed beam third headlight, sliding sunroof and a mohair headliner.
The Mark VI was both the first car from the Rolls-Royce factory with all-steel coachwork and the first complete car assembled and finished at their factory for Bentley. These very expensive cars when new were a genuine success and the chassis continued to be supplied to independent coachbuilders as they had been since inception. Like pre-war Bentley's they were large, stately and impressive and featured rear hinged 'suicide' doors at the front with concealed hinges, a sliding sunroof, a permanently closed windscreen with an electric defrosting and demisting unit hidden in the scuttle and a second heater that made use of the coolant and was fitted with an electric fan beneath the left front seat. Twin screen window wipers were fitted and provision was made for the fitting of a radio with a short and flexibly mounted aerial that could be swung up above the center of the screen.
A four-speed syncromesh manual transmission was fitted in all Bentley MK VI's with the change lever to the right of the driver on RHD cars and on the column on LHD versions. The car rode on a massive separate chassis using leaf springs at the rear and featuring independent coil springing at the front, quite an impressive advance for the marque in this period. A control on the steering wheel center adjusts the hardness of the rear springing by hydraulically adjusting the rear dampers. This is achieved via opening a check valve that provides pressure by diverting transmission oil to the dampers. A pedal-operated central lubrication system type 'Bijur-Girling' allows oil to be applied to moving parts of the suspension from a central reservoir by using a foot pedal. This standard steel sports saloon shorter wheelbase chassis and engine was a variant of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith of 1946. In late 1952 both the Rolls Royce Silver Dawn and Bentley Mk VI standard steel bodies were modified to incorporate a trunk (boot) of about twice the size and the result became known as the R type Bentley based on the Chassis number at which the change took place.
For those who are unfamiliar, Rolls Royce & Bentley no longer exists as it had for over one hundred years - this is one of the original line of cars built in the legendary Rolls Royce factory in Crewe, England with a quality and craftsmanship that far surpasses that of today's mass produced models with many BMW parts - this is a rare opportunity to own a piece of automobile history, from a time when Rolls Royce and Bentley were truly building the world's finest motor cars.
This increasingly desirable and legendary marque, 1949 Bentley Mark VI along with it's tall grille and Bentley 'Flying B' hood ornament mascot on the hood is a moving work of art from a time when Rolls-Royce and Bentley were famously building the "Best Cars in the World" with the craftsmanship and quality of these cars obviously speaking for themselves.
So buy with confidence, this Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic, will no doubt prove a fabulous investment for the astute investor, Bentley or Rolls Royce enthusiast or collector to own one of the best available Bentley Mark VI cars anywhere!
