1935 Bentley 3½ Litre Park Ward Drophead Coupé

Registration No: BYK 889
Chassis No: B170EF
MOT: Exempt

• Supplied new to Mildred Curzon, Viscountess Scarsdale, of Mayfair and Kedleston Hall
• Pleasingly retains its original and highly attractive Park Ward Drophead Coupé coachwork
• Acquired by the vendor in 2017 and thereafter lavished with some £58,000 worth of improvements with specialists Ristes Motor Company
• Fully cosmetically restored from 2011 to 2012 to a very high standard for approximately £30,000
• Offered with a large history file, including factory records, buff logbook, extensive invoices, and even a painting of the car!

At the dawn of the 1930s with the reverberations of 'Black Friday' (October 29th, 1929) being felt worldwide, competition between carmakers grew increasingly desperate. Thus, while W. O. Bentley sought to refine his Eight Litre into the ultimate luxury carriage, Rolls-Royce responded by dabbling with a sports car concept. Their concerns as to the branding of 'Peregrine' (as the project was labelled internally) were alleviated by Bentley's collapse in 1931. Outflanking rivals D. Napier & Son, they acquired Bentley wholesale (including W. O.'s services) for £125,257. With a department brief that "the new car must be as unlike the Rolls-Royce models as possible," Derby engineers set about preparing 'Peregrine' for flight. Built on a 'double-dropped' chassis carrying all round semi-elliptic leaf sprung suspension and assisted drum brakes, the new car used a tuned version of the Rolls-Royce 20/25's 3,669cc OHV straight-six. Boasting twin SU carburettors, a wilder camshaft, strengthened con-rods and a higher compression ratio, this revamped unit developed around 120bhp (a fifty per cent. improvement) without compromising refinement. Equipped with the 20/25's four-speed manual gearbox, high-geared worm and nut steering and hydraulic dampers, the resultant 'Silent Sportscar'—as the Bentley 3½ Litre soon became known—was unveiled to great acclaim at the August, 1933, Ascot Races.

While the majority of Derby Bentleys one encounters are Tourers or Sports Saloons, it is always a treat to find one which has been bodied a little more elaborately, and that is precisely what we have here—with its low roofline and gracefully sloping luggage locker, Park Ward’s Drophead Coupé body provides a perfect marriage of luxury with a genuine sporting flavour. It was built to order for Mildred Carson Curzon, Viscountess Scarsdale (1895-1969), who had married the viscount, Richard Nathaniel Curzon, on April 14th, 1923. Richard’s father died in 1925 and he inherited Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire, one of Robert Adam’s country house masterpieces, which epitomised the Palladian ideal. This, for Mildred, would be home when she didn’t have business or society affairs to attend to in London; when she did, she kept a large Georgian townhouse on South Street, just off Park Lane.

The Bentley, chassis B-170-EF, was very tastefully ordered in two tone Grey, with the body and wings in a light shade and the mouldings and wheels in a dark. The interior and mohair hood would be Grey to match. First registered to Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. on August 21st, 1935, it was transferred to Viscountess Scarsdale’s name on September 16th. Sadly, her marriage was foundering and in March, 1937, she returned the car to Bentley, a year before she began divorce proceedings.

The new owner from April 24th was Robert McCosh, a lifelong Rolls-Royce and Bentley enthusiast of Davidson’s Mains, near Edinburgh. His family had various lucrative interests, including in Baird Steel, the North British Railway and the solicitors J. & J. McCosh. His father, Andrew Kirkwood McCosh, had bought a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost in 1911, which started the tradition. Robert would own a run of 20hps during the 1920s, and postwar was quick to purchase a Bentley Mk. VI.

The full ownership history is known thereafter, including William Lancaster Keen of Greenock from 1946, and Alex Crockett of Glasgow from 1955. Another seven owners followed before the Bentley was bought by the present owner in 2017 from the Real Car Co. In the previous ownership, it had been extensively refurbished by James Black Restorations during 2011 and 2012 at a cost of around £30,000, being repainted in Old English White and benefiting from the rejuvenation of the leather. New headlamps and a new radiator shell were fitted at a cost of £9,000. It also underwent an extensive programme of electrical improvements. The entire system was rewired with cotton-covered cable in the correct colours with appropriate Ross Courtney terminals, and flashing indicators and a reversing lamp were wired in. Finally, a replacement overdrive was fitted with a new mounting, which necessitated some welding of the floor panels and partial retrimming.

When our vendor acquired it, he immediately submitted it for further improvements to marque specialists the Ristes Motor Co., with whom he spent some £58,000 during 2017 and 2018. Much of the work was centred round the front of the car, where the front suspension was dismantled. The shock absorbers were refurbished, and it was realised that the front springs only had six leaves when according to original specification they should have had nine, so a correct second-hand pair was sourced, refurbished and retempered. The suspension was put back together with a new set of gaiters.

Following the extensive work, the Bentley has been very much enjoyed by the vendor and has been a frequent sight at shows and rallies—with its elegant bodywork, it is invariably much admired at any gathering—and was observed to run well during its photoshoot. A Post-Vintage Thoroughbred in the most complete sense, B-170-EF is supplied with the V5C, its original buff logbook, copies of the Bentley build records, technical documents, M.O.T.s back to the 1990s, and many recent invoices.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452