Auction: 23 September
Image: 1936 Bentley 4¼ Litre Vanden Plas Sports Tourer Entered from the Evison Family Collection
Estimate £160,000 - £200,000
Registration No: DXM 225
Chassis No: B81JY
MOT: Exempt
One of just twelve bodied by Vanden Plas in their iconic ‘Sports Tourer’ style
Fantastic early history, having been supplied new to the Brooklands racer, Harry Rose
Subject to £50,377 of recent expenditure by marque specialist Ben Smith Engineering Services Ltd. of Devon
Entered from the Evison Family Collection
By the mid-1930s, there was something of a horsepower war going on among the top British car manufacturers. With the advent of high-speed Continental roads such as Italy’s autostrade and Germany’s Autobahnen, the race was on to build a sports saloon that could crack the magic 100mph barrier. Thus, Alvis released first the 3½ Litre and then the 4.3 Litre, Lagonda evolved the M45 into the more powerful LG45 and Bentley gave its customers the option of a larger 4¼ Litre engine during the 1936 season. A derivative of that fitted to the Rolls-Royce 25/30, the 4,257cc OHV straight-six unit was suitably reworked, gaining twin SU carburettors and a hotter camshaft in the process. Priced at £50, a comparatively small sum compared to the cost of a basic chassis, it proved so popular that the standard 3½ Litre powerplant was soon dropped. Nicely balanced to begin with, the Derby Bentley chassis was more than capable of handling the extra power and torque. Equipped with all-round leaf-sprung suspension, assisted drum brakes, a precise four-speed manual gearbox and worm-and-nut steering, its poise and responsiveness proved more than a match for many of its peers. Devotees of these cars included many of the motoring elite of the day, including Prince Bira, Captain George Eyston, Raymond Mays and Malcolm Campbell.
Just twelve examples of the very desirable Vanden Plas Sports Tourer were bodied in this style on a 4¼ Litre chassis, the first of which was ordered new by none other than Malcolm Campbell. Imitated on a regular basis on rebodied chassis, original Sports Tourers seldom appear on the market.
One of the twelve original Sports Tourers, B81JY was originally supplied to Harry Rose, a man cut from much the same cloth as Malcolm Campbell, if not quite so well-known. Like Campbell, Rose worked in the motor trade but would race at Brooklands when he had the opportunity. He had been born into considerable wealth, with his family having founded Universal Stores, a major consumer goods retailer, in Manchester in 1900. To give some idea of Rose’s immense riches, when he took delivery of the Bentley he had just changed his address from Grosvenor House on Park Lane to Kenstead Hall, a Mock Tudor mansion on Bishop’s Avenue, Finchley—a road journalists like to call “Billionaire’s Row.”
As a member of the Brooklands set, Rose most notably bought the ex-Whitney Straight 2.9-litre Maserati and proceeded to race it himself, before loaning it to the up-and-coming ace Dick Seaman, who had the cylinders reduced to 2.6 litres. In Seaman’s hands, Rose’s Maserati was a very successful machine, winning the 1936 British Empire Trophy, among other races.
Rose took ownership of this Bentley, registered ‘DXM 225’, on April 27th, 1937, and a photograph of him standing proudly by his new car may be seen in Bentley: The Silent Sports Car 1931-1941 by Michael Ellman-Brown. It was ideal for his needs, and he would use it on a number of occasions for high-speed runs into Europe, always travelling in the utmost comfort. It was finished the wonderful colour scheme of Belco Ivory with Apple Green leather upholstery, with special coachwork details including the extension of the bonnet louvres into the scuttle. Other features included a special hood material, Bosch fog lamps, a special dashboard veneer, a Philco radio set, a pair of luggage straps, a GB touring plate, and a wing-mounted rear number plate.
Rose’s association with the car was short-lived, because in September, 1938, it passed to G. B. Shrubsall of the Villa la Batterie, St. Tropez. This is believed to be George Shrubsall (1908-57), a fellow racer whose entries included the 1937 Three Hours of Marseilles in a Bugatti (DNS) and the 1939 Le Mans where, although listed as a driver for one of Luigi Chinetti’s Talbot-Lago T26s, he never actually drove. Shrubsall appears to have kept it through the war, and in June, 1947, it passed through Jack Barclay to Sunvic Controls Ltd. at 132, Long Acre, WC2. In 1951, ownership passed to Mr. Ryland Davis of London, W8, and in 1963 it passed to D. A. Nicholas of the Bridge Garage, Lifton, Devon. Another change occurred in 1966, with C. J. Bell of Moseley, Birmingham, taking possession. By 1977, it was owned by one E. Franck and sold that year through a Christie’s auction in Switzerland to David R. Moss of Crans-près-Céligny.
As of 1981, B81JY remained in Switzerland with Moss, although little was heard of it thereafter until 2018, when it was acquired for the present family’s collection, reimported, and issued with its original registration number. Between 2020 and 2021, it received £50,000 worth of work from Ben Smith Engineering Services, which included over £20,000 on the engine plus the fitment of a high-ratio back axle to aide long distance touring. As part of a private collection, the Sports Tourer has seen minimal use during that time but has been kept in wonderful condition, evidently having received a high-quality restoration in the past, although with the interior remaining pleasingly original and well-preserved. It is perhaps overdue a turn on the concours circuit, and it will surely cause a positive stir at any event it attends. It is supplied with copies of the extensive factory build records and other history, scans of its photograph in The Silent Sports Car, and a brief outline of the work performed by Ben Smith Engineering Services.
