Lot details Registration No: 430 EVE Chassis No: B409DZ Mot Expiry: June 2014
One of just four Bentley MKVI cars to sport this style of H.J. Mulliner Concealed Head Coupe coachwork (known internally as design number 7121/A), chassis B409DZ was sold new by Rippon Bros to William Whiteley Esq of Caley Hall, Pool in Wharfedale for a princely £5,935 15s 5d. Reputedly the only member of the quartet to feature a boot lid mounted spare wheel, the luxurious four-seater was finished in Tudor Grey Metallic with Grey leather upholstery. Mr Whiteley, whose family firm of B. S. & W. Whiteley Ltd had developed a new form of electrical insulation board called `Elephantide' during the 1920s, enjoyed the Bentley for nineteen years before passing it to his son Charles W. Whiteley Esq. Returned to Rippon Bros by the latter in September 1968, the MKVI was treated to a service exchange clutch assembly, engine overhaul (full flow oil filter conversion, new pistons / rings / gudgeon pins, replacement timing gears etc), sundry suspension / steering improvements and various coachwork repairs not to mention a partial repaint. Carried out at an indicated 40,801 miles, the work cost some £693 12s 5d.
Re-registered from `HWX 868' to `AN 2' following its acquisition by garagiste Alec Norman Esq. in March 1971, chassis B409DZ underwent a further number plate change to `430 EVE' prior to entering the current ownership some three years later. Accompanying MOT certificates show that the four-seater has covered less than 3,000 miles over the course of the past four decades. Still displaying just 52,000 miles to its odometer, the Bentley appears to be in remarkably original, `timewarp' condition. Maintained by Eric Jude & Son of Cambridge and David Wall of Wroxham, the MKVI has formed part of a significant private collection for the last thirty-nine years. Sparingly used by its fourth keeper, `430 EVE' has benefited from the installation of a stainless steel exhaust but is otherwise much as it left the factory. A testament to the skill with which H.J. Mulliner constructed its intricate coachwork, the Concealed Head Coupe's doors, boot and hood mechanism still operate with enviable precision.
With its sculpted wings, rear wheel spats and fluted swage line, chassis B409DZ exhibits a visual confidence that is absent from Park Ward's contemporary MKVI Drophead Coupe offerings. Arguably Britain's foremost coachbuilder during the late 1940s and 1950s - who could forget its immortal Continental Fastback designs - H.J. Mulliner-bodied Bentleys have long been sought after by collectors. Starting readily upon inspection, the four-seater pleasingly retains its original hood, leather upholstery and carpets (albeit the former could do with some re-stitching). Undeniably rare and imposing, `430 EVE' is offered for sale with a copy of its initial Rippon Bros sales invoice, buff logbook, tool kit and assorted Eric Jude / David Wall bills.
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