1931 Bentley – Not Your Average First Car

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Chris Pollitt

Photography supplied by Riikophoto

First cars are usually a bit, you know, rubbish. Unless you have extremely generous parents or extended family, your first car is the result of scrimping and saving. And even after all that effort, the cost of insurance will quash any motoring aspirations down to the level of a battered Nissan Micra. In fact, it would be safe to say that the landscape of insurance and the associated premiums for young drivers are what limit them so heavily. A small, slow, unappealing runaround can still run to a four-figure premium. However, the battles faced by today’s new driver are a very modern thing. Back in the day, things were different, as evidenced by this magnificent 1931 Bentley. Yes, some sixty years ago, this was someone’s first car. The modern-day seventeen year-old can only dream of such a thing. 

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The 4½ litre was created as a response to Bentley’s decreasing success at race events, most notably Le Mans. Bentley had the 3.0, but by the late ‘20s it was a dated, slow engine that lacked any potential for development. As such, Bentley had created the six-cylinder 6½ litre model. However, while fast, it was also a cumbersome machine and, thanks to its massive weight, it was hard on the driveline and especially the tyres. Enter stage left, the ‘Bentley Boys’. 

The ‘Bentley Boys’ were a group of customers held in high regard by W. O. Bentley himself. This group of gentlemen prided themselves on their cars, but in a more in-depth manner than the average customer. The ‘boys’ were indeed owners, but they were also the same people who raced the cars, and none were shy on the spanners. As a collective, they were an invaluable resource for Bentley, who listened to the plans to return his cars to the podium. 

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The resulting car to come out of the collaboration with the Bentley Boys was the 4½ litre. It was still a big machine, as it used the chassis of the 3.0, but with input from the boys, it was more nimble and agile. The biggest change was of course the engine. The inline-four, which boasted a capacity of 4,398cc, was a brutish engine, featuring a single overhead cam and a pair of SU carbs that, combined, delivered 100bhp at 3,500rpm. This was an increase of some 30bhp over that of the old 2,996cc engine.

Later cars would be fitted with a stronger, ‘heavy’ crank. Why? Because this engine would go on to create what we now know as the supercharged, competition-built ‘Blower’ Bentley with 175bhp. However, the cars built without the supercharger were still fitted with the stronger crank. The speculation is that in doing so, the 4½ litre was only ever a Rootes supercharger and some inlet housing away from being a ‘Blower’ model. 

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In competition guise, the new model enjoyed moderate success, much to the chagrin of Ettore Bugatti, who described the big Bentley as ‘the world’s fastest lorry’. The car won Le Mans in ‘28 and did the legwork for further victories in ‘29 and ‘30. However, while the 4½ litre was a wonderfully reliable engine, the Rootes supercharger was not, and regularly let the big car down. The car often took drivers to the podium, but the gold trophy was just out of reach. However, the car was still a success, and it was reflected in sales with over 600 naturally-aspirated 4½ litre cars being built and sold. However, few were like the one pictured here. 

Coachbuilding was the norm for cars of this period, with customers buying just an engine and chassis from Bentley before having the body built by an external business. Mulliner, for example, would happily body one’s Bentley. In fact, they did for many. It’s a well-known name. Maythorn & Son of Biggleswade, however, was not. Which, looking at the Sportsman body it built for this car, is something of a shame. 

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John Maythorn started his business in 1842, though this was a time when stagecoaches were falling out of fashion. Maythorn wasn’t put off, and instead found work building coaches for gentry and commercial customers. His work was second to none, and by 1852, when the company was known as Maythorn & Son, it was nationally known for quality. Not only that, Maythorn was keen to apply his skills widely, and as such was known as a builder of every type of horse-drawn carriage. 

It was his son, Frederick, who made the move into building bodies for cars. The skills were, as other companies were demonstrating, highly transferable, so why not? He expanded the business to accommodate this function, and soon started building bodies for the likes of Laniker, Talbot and Fiat – all of which were displayed at the 1919 Motor Show at London Olympia. 

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While the company was never as well known for cars as it was carriages, it was still a well-regarded name. Rolls Royce, Delage, Mercedes, Minerva, Hispano Suiza and Lanchester were all at some point fitted with Maythorn bodies. And of course, so were a number of Bentleys. The work was so impressive, that Maythorn & Son became a subsidiary of Hoopers. However, this wasn’t enough to secure the company’s future. The advance of pressed steel, notably from the likes of The Pressed Steel Company (that would go on to become part of BMC) spelled the end for Hoopers, which closed in ‘59. 

The car here, with its glorious Sportsmans body was a car of lasts. It was one of the final cars to be built by Bentley before it was bought by Rolls Royce, and it was one of the final cars to be bodied by Maythorn & Sons while it was still recognised as being its own entity. Few were built, and it’s speculated that this could be the only surviving car. 

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And survived it has. After being built, this Bentley lived the high end life you’d expect, before falling out of favour against more modern offerings. The classic downfall of many a large, luxury car. The car did well to survive the destruction of World War 2, with many of its peers being scrapped for their metal. However, despite its tenacity, in 1956 it was just an old car. Coachbuilt and luxurious though it was, it wasn’t overly desirable. Enter stage left Mike Harrison. 

Mike, who had not long passed his driving test, needed some wheels. A small Austin or something of that ilk would have been advisable. But Mike didn’t want ‘advisable’, he wanted something a bit more special. A 1931 Bentley 4½ litre definitely fit the bill, especially at £150! That’s about £3,100 in today’s money. A cheap car. 

And Mike would go on to drive the car for a further sixty years, come rain or shine. It was used ‘most days’ and as such, represents the rarest of the Bentleys. This car has been used, it’s been enjoyed, and it wears its years with pride. Mike made an obvious and impressive effort to preserve and look after the car, but not to such an extent that it ended up being a machine that lived in a garage under a soft sheet. No, this is a working car. The cracked leather, the imperfect coverings on the doors, the slight dullness to some of the brightwork – it’s a sign of life, of use. Not many cars of this ilk can boast that. Even fewer could be pressed into regular use. This one could though, and that is what makes it perfect. 

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Big, imposing and shed in impossible amounts of black detail, this is a mean, tough old machine. It carries with it an imposing sense of purpose, even today. It’s not a delicate antique, it’s a car that begs to be driven. Its life with Mike Harrison wasn’t its life complete. It was an early chapter. There are many miles left in this Bentley. And how many of us can say that about our first car? 

If you want to pick up from where Mike Harrison left off, this magnificent 1931 Bentley is currently for sale with Fiskens.

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