Lot details Registration No: LLH 235 Chassis No: B154LHR Mot Expiry: Exempt
- Supremely elegant example of the MKVI
- Restoration carried out by Calvert Wells & Co in 2009
- Understood to be 1 of just 4 examples made
Reputedly one of just four such left-hand drive Bentley MKVI chassis to be fitted with this style of Drophead Coupe coachwork with full flowing wings by Park Ward, chassis B-153-LHR was loaded aboard the SS American Banker bound for New York on December 11th 1950. Ordered with a power operated hood and E.C.G. monograms to each door, the four-seater was supplied new via J.S. Inskip Inc of New York to local businessman Edward Carpenter Garratt who kept it for four years. Thereafter, it is known to have belonged to renowned socialite and race horse owner Mrs Mary Elizabeth Altemus Personn Lunn Whitney Tippett of Llangollen Farm, Virginia and Paul Hartmann of Oakhurst, New Jersey before being repatriated by A. Dervan Esq of Fulham during March 1995. The Bentley owes its current condition to the extensive restoration carried out by Calvert Wells & Co in 2009, and is now viewed by the vendor as having 'very good' bodywork, paintwork, upholstery, straight-six engine and four-speed manual gearbox (the latter featuring a column change). He is parting with 'LLH 235' complete with factory chassis card records, collection of invoices and photos of the restoration.
The MKVI's sizeable, X-braced chassis featured hydraulic front brakes and independent front suspension by wishbones and coil springs. Only one length of wheelbase was offered - 10 ft. Power came from the new six-cylinder unit first seen in the short-lived MKV Saloon (of which only 11 examples were completed due to the onset of WWII). Though still 4,256 cc in capacity, it was an entirely fresh design, with F-Type alloy head and belt drive for the dynamo and water pump. The adjoining four-speed manual gearbox now had synchromesh on all but first gear. Standard equipment included: heater, demisters, leather upholstery, radio, picnic tables, vanity mirrors, reading lights, spare coil, reversing lights, oil level indicator and fog lamp. Wheel spats were an optional extra. With some 135bhp on tap, the newcomer was capable of attaining in the region of 94mph flat out.
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