1931 Bentley 8 Litre Sports Coupe Cabriolet by Barker

1931 Bentley 8-Litre Sports Coupe Cabriolet by Barker
High Bid $3,325,000
RM Auction, Monterey, CA. 2014
Chassis no. YR5099
Engine no. YR5099
Registration no. GN82
200–230 bhp (44.9 RAC hp), 7,983 cc SOHC inline six-cylinder engine with twin SU H08 carburetors, four-speed sliding-pinion manual gearbox, solid front axle and live rear axle suspension with half-elliptic leaf springs and double-acting dampers, and four-wheel Dewandre mechanical drum brakes. Wheelbase: 144 in.
The only original two-passenger roadster built on an 8-Litre chassis
A one-off, bespoke “boattail” design by Barker
Matching-numbers chassis, engine, and gearbox
Authenticity verified by vintage Bentley authority Clare Hay
Powerful, beautiful, and absolutely unique—the ultimate 8-Litre
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THE BENTLEY 8-LITRE
The gentleman sportsman reviewing the selection of fine automobiles available to him in 1930 would certainly have been tempted by the 8-Litre Bentley. For the man who had everything, it was the automobile that had everything.
Presence: It was over 20 feet long and as tall as a man, with an engine compartment more reminiscent of a locomotive than a car. Style: It was ideally proportioned for beautiful custom coachwork. Engineering: The exhaust pipe was asbestos-lagged, encased in aluminum to reduce resonance, and then coupled to a silencer the size of a 20-gallon waste bin. The starter engaged with surgical precision. Performance: Even with the heaviest custom coachwork, the 8-Litre was incredibly brisk and capable of 100 mph.
“This car can be driven really softly on its high top gear, as slowly as a man walks, and can accelerate from that without snatch and without difficulty,” proclaimed The Autocar.
In every sense, the 8-Litre was probably the greatest British automobile ever produced. Yet, only 100 chassis were built before the sheer cost of developing and building such a machine drove the company into receivership. Other Bentleys would come in the decades to come, but the 8-Litre was the last of the “W.O.s,” the great driver’s cars built under Mr. Bentley himself.
The majority of 8-Litre chassis were fitted with heavy, closed bodies, which were, for obvious reasons, often tossed aside by later owners and replaced with more sporting open coachwork. To find an 8-Litre with an open body that is the original for that chassis is extraordinarily rare, and most of those that do exist are four-passenger styles. Only a single 8-Litre was outfitted with two-passenger roadster bodywork when new, and that car is the one offered here today.
THE BARKER SPORTS COUPE CABRIOLET
Chassis number YR 5099 was the forty-ninth 8-Litre Bentley built, and it was one of thirty-four 12-foot wheelbase chassis intended for more sporting bodywork. It was ordered by Sir P. Malcolm Stewart, who was the owner of the London Brick Company, the largest brick manufacturer in the United Kingdom at the time. Stewart’s firm was highly regarded for its exceptionally fine working conditions, and after helping the Labour government devise methods to reduce unemployment in England, he was made a baronet in 1937.
Sir Malcolm was a devout Bentley enthusiast who had earlier ordered a 6½-Litre Speed Six, chassis number LB2330. That car had been bodied by Barker & Company, the London coachbuilders to the British Royal Family and numerous Indian princes, which was renowned for the fine quality of their work on a variety of chassis. Barker’s design for the Stewart Speed Six was a dashing two-passenger roadster with flowing individual fenders, curved pontoon-style running boards, and a tail that tapered into a gently rounded point, reminiscent of a boat’s stern. In American parlance, it would have been called a “boattail” speedster. Barker dubbed it a sports coupe cabriolet.
The owner apparently enjoyed that car, as he ordered this 8-Litre chassis to be finished with a virtually identical design. Sir Malcolm is pictured behind the wheel of chassis number YR5099 on page 132 of Johnnie Green’s respected Bentley: Fifty Years of the Marque. He retained ownership of the car for five years, and in 1934, it underwent minor maintenance, which was followed by the addition of a D.W.S. jacking system.
In February 1935, the 8-Litre passed to its second owner, G. Stewart Ferguson of Birmingham, England. At some point before or during World War II, it was taken to Scotland, and following the war, it was owned by one J.A. MacHarg. Mr. MacHarg modified the rear of the body to convert it into a four-passenger car, which was the opposite of what usually happens with 8-Litre chassis, and he drove the Bentley for some time.
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Robert Myrick Photography