Coys Auction
Ascot Racecourse,
Berkshire SL5 7JX
Sunday 23 May 2010 at 3pm
Registration Number: 617 XUF Chassis Number: 12021
When the ailing Bentley company was bought by Rolls-Royce in 1931, WO Bentley discovered to his chagrin that he and his service contract had been sold "along with the competition trophies and the boardroom furniture" to the new owners. During the next few years, each was to develop a healthy regard for the other‘s engineering talents, but differences lay too deep for the alliance to be a long lived one. Within two years of the introduction of the "Derby Bentley" in 1933 WO had parted company and his next move was to become chief engineer and designer at Lagonda, the other major English producer of sporting thoroughbreds.
His influence was first seen in the LG45, launched in late 1935. Available as saloon, tourer or drophead, it was noteworthy for its refinement while simultaneously being able to top 95mph, a startling figure for the time, and was reg