The Mechanists

SOLD - Bentley MK VI 1952

Six Appeal !!

About this MK VI

Undoubtedly one of the finest examples available
The first Luxury car by Bentley post-war era
One of the last MKVI produced – 1952
Comes with extensive files, invoices, restoration photos and workshop manual, hand book etc
Four-speed gearbox
5201 examples produced
They were the most expensive production cars in the world and the world's fastest 4/5-seater saloons.
One of the purest early post-World War II motor car designs and worthy example of elegant functionality

Some history about the MK VI

The Bentley Mark VI was the first post-war luxury car from Bentley produced from 1946 to 1952, it was also the first car from Rolls-Royce with factory coachwork but chassis were still also supplied to independent coachbuilders. The chassis and engine went on to be used as the basis of those in the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith of 1946 and Silver Dawn of 1949. The factory bodies were made by Pressed Steel Ltd of Coventry and sent to the Bentley works at Crewe for painting and fitting out with traditional wood and leather. They featured rear hinged ""suicide"" doors at the front and a sliding sunroof.

This fine example - chassis B27MB - produced in 1952 and sold new to Switzerland presents in beautiful Chrystal Metallic blue over dark blue leather interior. It has been subject of a full restoration completed by the current owner. Since the restoration completed early 2022, the car has barely been used and remain in outstanding condition. The interior is finished in dark blue leather with cream carpets. The woodwork is also in excellent order having been recently refinished. Picnic occasional tables are fitted to the rears of the front seat and twin fog lamps can be found either side of the main grill assisted by a centrally mounted spot lamp. A competitively priced and well proportioned coachbuilt Bentley which drives like a flying carpet.

The four-speed gearbox on this right-hand-drive example is located between the driver's seat and the door, and falls just at the driver's knee; believe it or not, a highly convenient location. It has a beautifully mechanical action, precised, and requires only gentle guidance of the elegant lever.

The unassisted cam-and-roller steering is heavy at rest, but all's forgiven once the car is in motion. The Mark VI has a really excellent steering, with good feedback through the black steering wheel. Not only can the Bentley find its way around a corner more quickly than you'd think, but it has excellent directional stability at speed.

The suspension just smothers irregularities in the road without resorting to the sort of floaty ride then favored by American luxury car builders. The independent front suspension and leaf-spring rear axle with adjustable shock absorbers take care of it all, without bothering the driver about the details.

The main thing you want to trust on such a car are the brakes, and it is just what we made sure of with AS Classic Engineering. The car can stop on a coin.

Take all of this together, and you have a car of above-average capabilities for its era, and one that engages the driver without asking for too much exertion in return. No, it's not really a sports car; it takes too many pains over its occupants' comfort to qualify for that classification. Yet it unquestionably falls into the category of driver's car.

Don't take just my word for it. "Acceleration and braking are of the highest order, and the road-holding qualities are such that it is possible to obtain a superlative ride at all speeds," wrote Captain George E.T. Eyston, the famed British race and land-speed record driver, on the Bentley's introduction in 1946. "Almost anyone can build a fast car, but here one has been built which is a truly controllable fast car."

The Mk VI's abilities were no accident. During World War II, Rolls-Royce had peered into its crystal ball, and recognized that some radical changes were on the way. One was that more and more of its clients were going to want to drive themselves; chauffeurs were on the way out. The other was that coachbuilding, already in sharp decline during the Depression, was likely to disappear entirely. The Bentley Mk VI was Crewe's first product to take both of those anticipated changes into account.

Specifications

Engine Straight-six, iron block and aluminum head

Displacement 4,566 cc

Bore x stroke 92 x 114.3mm

Compression ratio 6.4:1

Horsepower @ RPM 135 @ 4,000

Fuel system Twin SU carburetors

Transmission Four-speed manual, fully synchronized

Suspension Front: A-arms and coil springs; rear: semi-elliptic leaf spring

Steering Cam-and-roller, unassisted

Brakes Four wheel drum; hydraulic front, mechanical rear; mechanical servo

Curb weight 1854kg