Coys Auction - True Greats
Royal Horticultural Halls
Elverton St
Westminster
London SW1

Thursday 4th December 2008

The first product of the 1931 Rolls-Royce take-over of Bentley, the 3½ Litre was introduced in 1933 and was in essence a sporting version of the Rolls-Royce 20/25. As such, it used the shorter chassis of the stillborn ‘smaller‘ Rolls-Royce, code-named Peregrine, allied to a more powerful version of the 20/25‘s six cylinder engine with new crossflow cylinder head and camshaft, twin SU carburettors, twin fuel pumps and single coil ignition. Mated to a four-speed transmission with synchromesh and a hypoid bevel rear axle, the latter a first on a Rolls-Royce produced car, the 105bhp 3,699cc engine endowed the 3½ Litre with 90mph plus performance. Notably, this first of the Derby Bentleys was also the first to be marketed as ‘The Silent Sports Car‘, such was its considerable refinement. The 3½ Litre soon gained a reputation for p