1930 Bentley

This Bentley Speed Six Le Mans Tourer re-creation was assembled circa the early 1990s by Rod Warriner in Australia using a collection of parts that included the rear axle banjo of chassis LR2779, a 1930 Speed Six with Thrupp & Maberly saloon bodywork. Built with inspiration from Bentley’s works race cars, the re-creation was later imported to the US and was purchased by its current owner in 2020. Featuring fabric-bodied four-seat tourer coachwork in the style of Vanden Plas, it is powered by a 6.6-liter inline-six that incorporates a single overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder, dual ignition, and twin SU carburetors. Additional features include a period C-type four-speed manual transmission, mechanically actuated four-wheel drum brakes with servo assistance, painted 21” wire wheels, a racing-style fuel tank, a mesh windshield ahead of Brooklands-style screens, mesh covers on the Lucas headlights, a black soft top, green interior upholstery, and a dash-mounted billiards counter. This Vanden Plas-style Speed Six is now offered on dealer consignment in St. Louis, Missouri, with a Dr. Clare Hay report and a Washington title using chassis number LR2779 as its identification number and listing the car as a 1930 Bentley. Bentley introduced its 6½-liter offering in 1926 with power from a six-cylinder evolution of the 4½-liter model’s powerplant and a choice of various wheelbases carrying luxury-oriented coachwork. The Speed Six variant debuted in 1928 as higher-performance derivative of the 6½ Litre and delivered Bentley its third and fourth consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans victories in 1929 and 1930. Just 182 examples of the Speed Six were built with a variety of body configurations over a choice of three wheelbases. According to the 2019 report from Dr. Clare Hay, this example’s frame is believed to have been fabricating using primarily reproduction parts combined with the rear axle “banjo” crossmember from original Speed Six chassis LR2779. Reproduction bodywork incorporates a rear body section covered in dark green fabric with three doors, aluminum hood panels finished in green, and green-painted cycle-style fenders. Additional features include Lucas P100 headlights encased in body-color housings and stone guards, a radiator stone guard and quick-release cap, leather hood straps, dual Brooklands-style windscreens behind a fold-down mesh windshield, a rear-mounted fuel tank with a quick-release filler cap, a black convertible top, and two matching tonneau covers. Number-four graphics evoke the livery carried by the Woolf Barnato-driven Bentley Speed Six “Old Number One” works car en route to winning Le Mans in 1930. Green-painted wire wheels are secured by two-eared knock-offs and are wrapped in 7.00×21 Michelin Comfort Cordless tires, as is a matching spare secured to the left side of the cowl. Stopping is handled by mechanically actuated drum brakes with green-painted outer drum surfaces and assistance from a Dewandre L2 vacuum servo. The right-hand-drive cockpit houses front bucket seats and a rear bench trimmed in dark green leather, with matching upholstery over the doors and side panels. Additional features include color-matched carpeting, footwell storage pockets, a right-hand shifter, and a dash-mounted rearview mirror. Race-style pit notes have been applied to the left-front door panel. The Bluemel four-spoke steering wheel features a reeded-grip rim and sits ahead of a dashboard panel topped by a period French billiards counter that serves as a lap counter. Jaeger instrumentation includes a 4,400-rpm tachometer and a 125-mph speedometer, while additional instruments include a clock and gauges monitoring coolant temperature, amperage, and oil pressure. The five-digit odometer shows 7k miles, approximately 33 of which have been added by the selling dealer. The 6,597cc inline-six features a single block and cylinder head casting, an overhead camshaft, a two-piece aluminum crankcase with a barrel-sided sump, twin SU carburetors, Standard Six exhaust manifolds, dual ignition with an ML GR6 magneto and a Delco-Remy distributor, an oil reserve tank, and dual electric fuel pumps. The Autovac has been blanked off, and the intake manifold is said to be mounted on a spacer plate to accommodate a twin-port block configuration that deviates from the original single-port setup used for 1930 Speed Sixes. The engine is believed to have been assembled from non-original castings and has been stamped with engine number LR2784. An oil change was performed in late July 2024. The steering column is stamped MD2459 and was from a 1928 Standard Six model. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a C-type gearbox with an aluminum casing that is said to have originated from a 1929 4½-litre Bentley. Additional features include a single-plate clutch and an updated driveshaft. Suspension incorporates leaf springs bound in leather gaiters and reproduction Hartford friction shock absorbers at front and rear. The 29-page Dr. Clare Hay report outlines the history of the original chassis LR2779 and provides analysis of the components and features of this re-creation. The report states that the rear axle carrier is believed to have originated from chassis LR2779, while the front axle is not consistent with an original Speed Six unit despite carrying a plate stamped with number LR2779. The Washington title carries a “Classic” brand.