Beschreibung:

Property of a deceased's estate 1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Tourer Coachwork by R Harrison & Son Registration no. GU 9000 Chassis no. NX3468 *A completely matching-numbers example *Known ownership history *Engine overhauled by Hoffman & Mountford in the late 1960s *Present ownership since 1993 *Preceding ownership 1959-1993 Fußnoten W O Bentley proudly debuted the new 3-litre car bearing his name on Stand 126 at the 1919 Olympia Motor Exhibition, the prototype engine having fired up for the first time just a few weeks earlier. In only mildly developed form, this was the model which was to become a legend in motor racing history and which, with its leather-strapped bonnet, classical radiator design and British Racing Green livery has become the archetypal vintage sports car. 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-Litre'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-Litre chassis rather than accept the expense and complexity of Bentley's 6½-Litre 'Silent Six', led to the introduction of the '4½'. The new 4½-Litre model effectively employed the chassis, transmission and brakes of the 3-Litre, combined with an engine that was in essence two-thirds of the six-cylinder 6½-litre 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-Litre. Bentley Motors lost no time in race-proving its new car. It is believed that the first prototype engine went into the 3-Litre chassis of the 1927 Le Mans practice car. Subsequently this same engine was fitted to the first production 4½-Litre chassis for that year's Grand Prix d'Endurance at the Sarthe circuit. The original 4½-Litre 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-Litre was produced for four years, all but nine of the 665 cars being built on the 3-Litre's 'Long Standard', 10' 10½"-wheelbase chassis. Purchasers of the 4½-Litre 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. A remarkably original example, chassis number 'NX3468' retains its original two-seat tourer coachwork by R Harrison & Son of Stanhope Street, London together with its original registration mark, 'GU 9000'. All the numbers have been checked and everything matches: chassis, engine, SU carburettors, front axle, steering box, C-Type gearbox - even the sump number is in the correct sequence. (The car is expected to possess a Hay Report by time of sale.) The Bentley's first owner was Mrs Eileen Mary Marshall of Buckingham Gate, London SW1, daughter of Albert Jacob a director of the eponymous Liverpool-based biscuit manufacturer and MP for East Toxteth. He died in February 1929, two months before the Bentley's delivery to his daughter. Bentley Motors' service records show that Mrs Marshall drove the '4½' extensively during the ten years she owned it, and the sight of a woman at the wheel such an imposing motor car must have caused quite a stir in 1930s London. Between 1929 and 1938, 'GU 9000' was maintained by Bentley Motors, and in 1939 the car was sold to Mr E Bird in Kent. Various logbooks trace the owners during the post-war period, showing the Bentley spent time in Upper Richmond and Queens Club Gardens. It later moved to Oxford and then, in 1947, to West Bromwich, remaining with that