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Shortly after the armistice that followed the Great War in 1919, W.O. Bentley, together with a group that included Frank Burgess (formerly of Humber) and Harry Varley (formerly of Vauxhall), set about designing a high quality sporting sport-touring automobile for production under the name Bentley. The first Bentley Motors, Ltd. was founded in 1919, and between that time and 1931, W.O. created the motorcars which became a legend on the racing circuits of Europe as well as among the sporting set at home. It wasn't until 1928 that Woolf Barnato became a fully-fledged part of the group of rich amateur drivers known as the Bentley Boys that included many of the prestigious customers of the small marque at home and abroad. Bentley racing proved highly successful in the late 1920's including victories at Brooklands and in 1929 the Team's best ever result were at LeMans, with Bentleys placing 1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th.
In 1931 Bentley Motors and the consultancy of W.O. Bentley were acquired by Rolls-Royce and thereafter the company focused mainly on passenger car production. One of the first of the Bentley vehicles produced after this marriage was the 1933 3-1/2 Liter, a vehicle similar in many ways to the Rolls-Royce 20/25. The significance of the Bentley nameplate was not lost on Rolls-Royce as their new acquisition's automobiles continued to be identified by the public as having a racing pedigree. The Bentley featured 2 SU carburetors and a naturally aspirated straight-six engine producing 125 horsepower. It could achieve sixty mph in around fourteen seconds with the top speed just below 100 mph. With a four year production run from 1936 through 1939 and during which time 1,241 examples were produced, this was the greatest number of vehicles produced under the Bentley make of the same essential designation.
All Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars of this period were fitted with custom coachwork from the premier British and European body builders ranging from England's H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward and Vanden Plas to Berlin's rakish Bohman & Schwartz. The subject vehicle on offer here is no exception; fitted with a one-off six-place drophead coupé body by Vanden Plas, it was built to the specific requirements of its original owner, Captain Douglas Krauss of Scotland. B84LS was originally registered as ELB3 in May of 1938 and was retained by Capt. Krauss for only one year before being sold to Sir Allan Lane of Penguin Books in London. Tragically, Lane died during the Second World War and the car passed to his 5' foot tall sister, who found the car positively too huge for her small frame following her move to Sydney, Australia in the late 1940s. B84LS then changed hands to one Kenneth Hoskins of Moss Vale, New South Wales, who also performed the car's first largely mechanical restoration that included some tasteful and subtle upgrades such as full-flow oil filtration and power-assisted steering from then-current Rolls-Royce production models. Hoskins retained ownership of the car until 1965, when it passed into the hands of the current owner. After some years of appreciative ownership, the current owner began a no-expense-spared comprehensive restoration of the car to its current condition, inside, out and underneath. Shown since at many major Concours d'Elegances around the country, B84LS has received an initial invitation to the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as Bentley is again this year's featured marque.
For further inquiries about this automobile click here
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In 1931 Bentley Motors and the consultancy of W.O. Bentley were acquired by Rolls-Royce and thereafter the company focused mainly on passenger car production. One of the first of the Bentley vehicles produced after this marriage was the 1933 3-1/2 Liter, a vehicle similar in many ways to the Rolls-Royce 20/25. The significance of the Bentley nameplate was not lost on Rolls-Royce as their new acquisition's automobiles continued to be identified by the public as having a racing pedigree. The Bentley featured 2 SU carburetors and a naturally aspirated straight-six engine producing 125 horsepower. It could achieve sixty mph in around fourteen seconds with the top speed just below 100 mph. With a four year production run from 1936 through 1939 and during which time 1,241 examples were produced, this was the greatest number of vehicles produced under the Bentley make of the same essential designation.
All Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars of this period were fitted with custom coachwork from the premier British and European body builders ranging from England's H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward and Vanden Plas to Berlin's rakish Bohman & Schwartz. The subject vehicle on offer here is no exception; fitted with a one-off six-place drophead coupé body by Vanden Plas, it was built to the specific requirements of its original owner, Captain Douglas Krauss of Scotland. B84LS was originally registered as ELB3 in May of 1938 and was retained by Capt. Krauss for only one year before being sold to Sir Allan Lane of Penguin Books in London. Tragically, Lane died during the Second World War and the car passed to his 5' foot tall sister, who found the car positively too huge for her small frame following her move to Sydney, Australia in the late 1940s. B84LS then changed hands to one Kenneth Hoskins of Moss Vale, New South Wales, who also performed the car's first largely mechanical restoration that included some tasteful and subtle upgrades such as full-flow oil filtration and power-assisted steering from then-current Rolls-Royce production models. Hoskins retained ownership of the car until 1965, when it passed into the hands of the current owner. After some years of appreciative ownership, the current owner began a no-expense-spared comprehensive restoration of the car to its current condition, inside, out and underneath. Shown since at many major Concours d'Elegances around the country, B84LS has received an initial invitation to the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as Bentley is again this year's featured marque.
For further inquiries about this automobile click here
<< return to results
