Bentley Mark VI

Bentley Mark VI
1947 standard steel sports saloon
Overview
ManufacturerBentley Motors (1931) Limited, Crewe Cheshire
Production1946–1952
5208 produced[1]
AssemblyCrewe, England
Body and chassis
ClassFull-size luxury car
Body style4-door saloon[2]
2-door saloon[2]
2-door drophead coupe[2]
chassis only [2] (for coachbuilt bodies)
LayoutFR layout
RelatedRolls-Royce Silver Dawn
Powertrain
Engine4+1⁄4-litre 4.3 L (260 cu in) I6
4+1⁄2-litre 4.6 L (280 cu in) I6
Transmission4-speed manual
Dimensions
Wheelbase120 in (3,048 mm)[3]
Length192 in (4,877 mm)[3]
Width70 in (1,778 mm)[3]
Height64.5 in (1,638 mm)[3]
Kerb weight4,078 lb (1,850 kg)
Chronology
PredecessorMark V
SuccessorR Type

The Bentley Mark VI is an automobile from Bentley which was produced from 1946 until 1952.

The Mark VI 4-door standard steel sports saloon[4] was the first post-war luxury car from Bentley. Announced in May 1946[5] and produced from 1946 to 1952 it was also both the first car from Rolls-Royce with all-steel coachwork and the first complete car assembled and finished at their factory. These very expensive cars were a genuine success; long-term, their weakness lay in the inferior steels forced on them by government's post-war controls.[6]

In 1944 Rolls-Royce executive W. A. Robotham saw that there would be limited postwar demand for a Rolls-Royce or Bentley rolling chassis with a body from a specialist coachbuilder, and negotiated with the Pressed Steel Company a contract for a general-purpose body to carry four people in comfort on their postwar chassis behind a Rolls-Royce or Bentley radiator. Though he stretched the demand to 2000 per year, Pressed Steel were "nonplussed" by the small demand.[7] Chassis continued to be supplied to independent coachbuilders, which produced four-door saloon, two-door saloon and drophead coupe models.[2] Out of the coachbuilt cars the most sought after now are the 241 cars built by H.J. Mulliner. A single 1950 Standard Steel bodied MkVI chassis B39HP registration LLP 769 was supplied new converted internally by Mulliner into a six-seater limousine supplied to L.S. Lambourne Esq. The ex factory price was £2595 plus £140 for the outsourced conversion by Mulliner of the front seat to accommodate the wind up glass division in the custom bench seat.[8]

This first Bentley factory finished car was given the name Bentley Mark VI standard steel sports saloon. This shorter wheelbase chassis and engine was a variant of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith of 1946 and, with the same standard steel body, became the cautiously introduced Silver Dawn of 1949. In 1952 both Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn and Bentley Mk VI standard steel bodies were modified to incorporate a boot of about twice the size and the result became known as the R type Bentley based on the Chassis number at which the change took place.[9][10][11] The name of the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn was not changed after the modification that started with the "E" series in these cars.[12]

A very few Mark VI engines and chassis were modified to provide higher performance and sold to be bodied by selected coachbuilders as the first Bentley Continentals (see below).[13]

  1. ^ King, Bernard.L (2008). Bentley Mark VI. Coulsdon, England: Complete Classics. ISBN 978-0-9530451-7-4.
  2. ^ a b c d e Prices, Bentley sales brochure, Bentley Motors (1931) Limited, January 1952, as archived at www.webcitation.org
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Motor1952 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Brochure (sports saloons)
  5. ^ First Post-War Bentley. The Times, Thursday, 23 May 1946; pg. 7; Issue 50459; col C From our motoring correspondent
    The first post-war Bentley model, known as the 4+1⁄4-litre Mark VI, will be ready next month. It is an improved version of the 1939 car, and experimental models have been tested for several years, one having covered over 100, 000 miles. Modifications include: a new frontal appearance; overhead inlet and side exhaust valves; chromium-plated cylinder bores; independent front suspension by helical springs; a new and stronger chassis frame; a divided propeller shaft which eliminates the need for a tunnel in the floor boards; and improved brakes.
    In the past Bentley Motors have made chassis only but the Mark VI will be sold as a complete four door sports saloon at £2,997 including purchase tax. Other models will be available with coachwork by Park Ward, James Young and H J Mulliner at prices from £3,450 to £3,910. The chassis alone costs £1,785.
  6. ^ Nutland, Martyn (2007), Bentley MkVI: Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Silver Dawn & Silver Cloud, Bentley R-series & S-series, Dorchester, UK: Veloce Publishing, p. 92, ISBN 978-1-845840-68-6
  7. ^ Robotham, William Arthur (1970). Silver Ghosts and Silver Dawn. London: Constable. pp. 198–200.
  8. ^ Original supply inv for works no B10713 with owner 20/09/2023
  9. ^ Nutland, Martyn (2007), Bentley MkVI: Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Silver Dawn & Silver Cloud, Bentley R-series & S-series, Dorchester, UK: Veloce Publishing, p. 5, ISBN 978-1-845840-68-6
  10. ^ Display Advertising: Announcing Important New Developments The Times, Friday, 19 September 1952; pg. 3; Issue 52421; col F
  11. ^ Taylor, James. Original Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1946-65: The Restorer's Guide to the 'standard' saloons and mainstream coachbuilt derivatives (Original Series). P42ff. Herridge & Sons Ltd., 2008. ISBN 9781906133061.
  12. ^ Taylor, James. Original Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1946-65: The Restorer's Guide to the 'standard' saloons and mainstream coachbuilt derivatives (Original Series). P54ff. Herridge & Sons Ltd., 2008. ISBN 9781906133061.
  13. ^ Taylor, James. Original Rolls-Royce & Bentley 1946-65: The Restorer's Guide to the 'standard' saloons and mainstream coachbuilt derivatives (Original Series). P67. Herridge & Sons Ltd., 2008. ISBN 9781906133061.