Beschreibung:

1937 BENTLEY 4¼-LITRE SPORTS SALOON COACHWORK BY PARK WARD, LONDON Registration No. ELE 177 Chassis No. B173 KU Engine No. K4 BC Engine: six-cylinder in-line, monobloc, detachable cylinder head, overhead valves by pushrods, 4257cc, bore and stroke 88.9mm x 114.3mm, compression ratio 6.8:1, 125bhp at 4500rpm, twin SU HV4 carburettors, coil and distributor ignition, 12 volt electrics. Transmission: single dry plate clutch, four speed gearbox with synchromesh on 3rd and 4th, hypoid bevel final drive. Suspension: semi-elliptic leaf springs to front and rear, hydraulic shock absorbers adjusted to hand control powered by gearbox pump to increase loads with road speed. Brakes: four wheel internal expanding drums operated by mechanical servo Right hand drive. The Bentley Company and all its assets were purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931, but it was two years later that the first new Silent Sports Saloon Bentley was introduced, the 3½-litre. The engine was a twin carburettor version of the Rolls-Royce 20/25, but with a different cylinder head, camshaft and higher compression ratio. By 1936 a revised 4¼-litre Bentley was launched alongside the similar engined Rolls-Royce 25/30, but with better mechanical componants. The Derby Bentleys, as they were nicknamed, soon earned an enviable reputation, and with the development of European highways, the 4¼-litre was the ideal high performance Grande Routier for the sporting owner driver. The Bentley, like its Rolls-Royce counterpart, attracted the very best of the coachbuilders art. The most popular designs were by Park Ward with their sports saloons and sports tourers, and well-known sportsmen such as Sir Malcolm Campbell and Sir George Eyston became Bentley owners. To improve outright performance beyond the magical 100mph, aerodynamics were for the first time being considered within the aesthetic equation of the designer. Park Ward who were closely associated with the factory offered a range of standard body styles which cut down the usual six months waiting period from the rolling chassis arriving from Derby and the finished product leaving the coachbuilder. This 1938 Bentley 4¼-litre is a good example of Park Ward's standard catalogue coachwork for the lightweight four-door, four-light all aluminium bodied Sports Saloon. The chassis left the Derby works on 6th September 1937 and was completed by the end of October and was delivered to the Rolls-Royce/Park Ward stand at the Scottish Motor Show in Glasgow. It goes without saying that the final preparation was given that extra detailing which included a metal sliding sunroof. The original colour was two-tone black and brown with black leather upholstery and the first owner was Mr Alfred E Moss, father of Britain's most well-known motor racing driver, who purchased the car directly from the stand. Although a dentist in London, he was better known for his motor racing exploits in the late 1920s at Brooklands and in America where he competed in the Indianapolis 500. Prior to delivery, Mr Moss requested the more powerful R100 headlamps which are still on the car today. ELE 177 gave wonderful service to the Moss family for over eighteen years and is remembered with great affection by the two children, Stirling and Pat. They both drove the car at various times with one everlasting memory of their father's attempt to exceed 98mph around the Colnebrook by-pass on their way back to school. Since leaving the Moss family, the car has had four owners and has recently returned from America where it had a complete chassis and engine rebuild. The colour was changed to its present black and green in the late 1970s and at the same time the wheels were changed to the present 16 inch wires which provide the car with greatly improved roadholding. Mechanically the car is superb and drives and handles like a true sporting Bentley. The car has recently had a full service and checkover and comes with a current MoT test certificate, both old and new style logboo