1925 Bentley 3-Litre Open Tourer - Guide Price : £150,000 - £200,000
This Bentley 3-Litre, number '#1079', was completed in April 1925 on the 'Standard Long' chassis and first owned by one Guy Dutton. Initially registered as 'PE 2667', the car was bodied by H. J. Mulliner with their 'Allweather' bodywork and finished in grey and black. In her seminal work on the marque, 'Bentley - the Vintage Years', Dr Clare Hay records that the original engine ('1075') is in chassis '994'.
Guy Dutton kept the Bentley until it was transferred, on 11th May 1935, to Brooklands Aviation at Sywell Aerodrome where it appears to have been converted into a fire tender. There is a photograph of the car in Bill Boddy's 'Brooklands Volume 3' showing it as a fire tender and captioned 'Put into Service, 1935'. The logbook has been altered to read 'Class: Fire Engine'.
The car's second old-style logbook shows that 'PE 2667' was subsequently acquired by Bert Middlemas (Hornby Park Motors) on 21st July 1953, before passing through the hands of a couple more dealers before being purchased by William Deane of Chester in July 1956. A green continuation logbook lists a Mr Henry Pasco of Wellesbourne as its owner from 21st January 1964, being followed swiftly by Reginald Booth on 18th February 1964. The car’s next custodian, John Henry Davidson, acquired it on 1st of February 1965 and obviously enjoyed the car as he was to retain it until Terence Dickie persuaded him to sell it on 19th September 1983. It is not known when the fire tender bodywork was replaced. On 2nd June 1993, Terence Dickie sold the Bentley to Raymond Lippiatt, its last owner, a long-term Rolls-Royce and Bentley enthusiast well known within the respective Owners' and Drivers' Club circles. From the file it can be seen that the Bentley was last taxed in September 2020.
The history file contains the aforementioned logbooks along with a hand-written sheet from Ray Lippiatt explaining some of the early history, a replacement Vintage Bentley Parts price list, older MOTs, SORN paperwork and V5s, and an invoice from Elmdown Engineering dated November 2006 relating to 15 hours of maintenance and servicing.
Restored some 30 years ago, this 3-Litre Bentley still looks splendid today, finished in classic British Racing Green and Brooklands Green, with wings, running boards and wire wheels in black. The black leather interior is delightfully patinated and looks perfectly in keeping with the car's Vintage-era origins. Notable in-period features include the original toolbox, spare parts chest, a Pratts petrol can, and hessian-trimmed suitcase, whilst the front badge-bar carries badges from the AA, VSCC, Bentley Drivers' Club and BARC Brooklands.
Silverstone Auctions Dawn of Motoring Auction will take place at The Lygon Arms, Broadway, WR12 7DU on Friday 4th August, which coincides with the Vintage Sports-Car Club’s Vintage Prescott weekend
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