1931 Rolls-Royce 20/25

This 1931 Rolls-Royce 20/25 was originally built with H.J. Mulliner two-door drophead coupe bodywork and was first registered in England on March 3, 1931. The car was purchased as a rolling chassis in 2014 and was subsequently transformed into a Blower Bentley-style special featuring alloy boattail coachwork over a shortened wheelbase. Power is provided by a 3.7-liter OHV inline-six that was modified with a Marshall Roots-type supercharger, an aluminum cylinder head, and a custom billet camshaft. Finished in dark green, the car also features a four-speed manual transmission with Laycock de Normanville overdrive, an AP Racing clutch, mechanically actuated finned aluminum drum brakes, cord-bound springs, Andre Hartford friction shock absorbers, red-painted 19” wire wheels, two-place seating upholstered in red leather, a cord-bound steering wheel, and an engine-turned dash fascia. This 20/25 “Dreadnought Special” was purchased by the selling dealer two years ago and is now offered in Putte, Belgium, with copies of its factory build sheets, invoices and photos from its 2014-2018 build, and UK registration. Under the leadership of founder W.O. Bentley, Cricklewood-based Bentley established itself a racing-oriented marque with achievements including five Le Mans victories between 1924 and 1930. Following the company’s acquisition by Rolls-Royce, the Bentley marque shifted away from performance in favor of elegance with the first Derby-built model based on the Rolls-Royce 20/25 platform. This creation’s 20/25 chassis is said to have been shortened to a wheelbase of 108” to evoke the stance of a 1920s Bentley Green Label 3-Litre Speed model. The ash-wood-framed aluminum bodywork was hand-fabricated by Bespoke Bodywork of Church Crookham, England, during the build and is finished in dark green. Features include a louvered boattail rear profile, louvers along the engine compartment and rocker panels, a single rear-hinged door, Lucas tri-bar headlights, leather hood straps, dual Brooklands-style windscreens, a high-mount three-into-one exhaust system, and dual Monza-style fuel filler caps. Red-painted wire wheels are wrapped in 6.50-19 Blockley tires. Stopping is handled by cable-and-rod-actuated aluminum finned drum brakes, while solid-axle suspension incorporates lowered cord-bound semi-elliptical leaf springs and Andre Hartford adjustable friction shock absorbers. The right-hand-drive cockpit houses a two-place bench trimmed in red leather with matching upholstery over the perimeter coaming and side panels. Additional features include black carpeting, a gated shifter to the driver’s right outside of the bodywork, a door storage pocket, an electrical cut-off switch, and a nine-volt electrical receptacle. The four-spoke steering wheel features leather cord wrapped around its rim and sits ahead of an engine-turned dash fascia that hosts instrumentation including a 120-mph speedometer and a 5k-rpm tachometer. The five-digit odometer shows 1,700 miles, approximately 60 of which have been added under current ownership. Additional instruments include gauges monitoring fuel level, amperage, supercharger pressure, oil pressure, and coolant temperature. The 3.7-liter OHV inline-six was fitted with a front-mounted Godfrey Marshall K300 supercharger that breathes through twin SU carburetors as part of an overhaul performed during the build. Additional modifications are said to include a Fiennes Restoration aluminum cylinder head, forged pistons, a custom Newman billet camshaft, a lightened flywheel, a Sterling Rattler vibration damper, a four-core radiator, an electric cooling fan, and an aluminum fuel tank. Oil leakage is noted by the selling dealer. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission that was also overhauled during the build, which included the addition of a Laycock de Normanville overdrive unit and an AP Racing diaphragm clutch. Additional images from the car’s construction are included in the photo gallery below, as are invoices from parts utilized during the build. The chassis’ factory build sheets list coachwork by H.J. Mulliner along with component numbers including engine number Y6J, which is shown stamped on the crankcase in the gallery. The car does not have a title as it is registered in a country that does not issue titles for vehicles. It is being sold on its UK registration.