The Silent Sports Car

This year marks the 80th Anniversary of the launch of the Derby Bentley - a model which became known as the "The Silent Sports Car" following a successful advertising campaign:

 

 

Bentley Spotting has previously posted some of the advertisements here: http://www.bentleyspotting.com/2011/10/bentley-silent-sports-car.html

 

Production of the Derby Bentley ran from 1933-1939, initially as a 3 1/2 litre, but then as a 4 1/4 litre from 1936 onwards. For the cognescenti, the 4 1/4 litre with overdrive, introduced in October 1938, is considered best of these very desirable cars. 

 

More than half of the 2,422 examples were bodied by Park Ward, but others including Barker, Freestone & Webb, Gurney Nutting, Hooper, James Young, Kellner, Vanden Plas and Vanvooren were responsible for creating some stunning coachwork.

 

Here are some examples:

 

Hooper...

 

 

Gurney Nutting...

 

 

Another Gurney Nutting...

 

 

And Gurney Nuttting again...

 

 

And Vanvooren...

 

 

All wonderful, wonderful cars.

 

Team Bentley Spotting has also obtained these photos of a Derby Bentley taken in the US in the late 1960s...

 

 

Does anyone know the car? I hope it still exists...

 

 

Credit to Derby Bentley (http://www.derbybentley.co.uk/intro.htm), Derby Bentley Society (http://derbybentley.org/) and Bentley Drivers Club (http://www.bdcl.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158&Itemid=114) for details of these cars.

 

Thanks to Team BHP and Flickr users wcraig and martin alford for photos.

 

(Posted by Andy)