1936 Bentley 4¼-Litre Special

This delightful Bentley 4¼-Litre Special started life as a Mann Egerton two-door, four-seater Sportsman’s Saloon similar to the 1936 motor show car and was originally sold to Sir Ian Duff Lyle of Tate & Lyle Sugar and there is a letter from his estate manager to support this. Reference to the car can also be found in Bentley Specials and Special Bentleys Vol 2 by Ray Roberts.

Purchased by our vendor in 1999, totally disassembled in a container, he commenced a three-year project resulting in the attractive lightweight tourer we have on offer today. A very well sorted machine, the Bentley has covered some 25,000 miles since completion in 2002. The engine features sensible upgrades, Mk VI conrods, shell bearings and spin off oil filter. A website detailing the build and history of this unique car is most interesting, including a complete record of competitive events etc. www.spoof-racing.com from which we quote below;

'I acquired the car in late 1999 in many tea chests and boxes. It was completely dismantled but had had a considerable amount of refurbishment done. The story was that the guy selling the car had bought it as a retirement project for his father. His father did much work on the car but died in his mid-90s The son had no interest in continuing the work, the house where it was stored was sold and it had to go. The original body had disappeared years before and the previous owners had acquired the car in a similar condition, it is believed from somewhere in Suffolk. The differential was completely smashed and this was probably the reason that the car was taken off the road. In the 1950s and 1960s it would have been regarded as an old banger and not worth repairing. I carried out all of the mechanical work for the rebuild and the body was built by the late Chris Compton of Welshpool using aluminium skinned onto a steel space frame. Truly vintage coach building! However, it has saved some half tonne of weight. The whole rebuild was completed in just three years and it was MOT’d in October 2002 in time for the Vintage Sports-Car Club Lakeland Trial in November 2002 which it finished without a hitch. This is documented in two comprehensive history files, together with all work since.

Although I had given the engine a cursory internal clean and it had fired up first time, it did not take kindly to racing and expired spectacularly during a race at Donington Park in 2003. Through my contacts at the VSCC I was put in touch with some people who had a fully rebuilt but unused engine for sale It had belonged to 'Rusty' Russ Turner and been rebuilt by his engine guy, Tony Fabian. Russ Turner supercharged his engines which gave them a short-ish lifespan and this one had been ready for his car but never fitted. It had then gone through several hands on a pallet before I purchased it. After a tow around the block with no ignition, which gave full oil pressure, it fired up straightaway and remains in the car running well. Its most recent outings were the HERO Challenge Two event in September 2023 and the Bugatti Owners Club Rallye event at Prescott in November 2023.'

The bodywork is a lightweight steel bar frame with aluminium panelling, crafted by the late Chris Compton, and has had a rear seat fitted in the past, but now is a storage area for luggage; the hood is effective and easily attached. Red leather seats have been recently retrimmed, and accompany the car. Those currently fitted are bucket type and exceptionally comfortable. This is a very well set up and sorted machine for competition but perfectly useable and enjoyable as a touring car and would be ideal for the HERO Flying Scotsman, Vintage Shamrock and many VSCC events. Offered at a most attractive estimate this Bentley will afford the new owner with many years of rallying enjoyment, and has its VSCC Buff Form in the file.