One of only seven coupés built in this body style
Breathtakingly beautiful design by Hooper & Co
Restored to an impressive standard in the mid-1990s
Extensively documented with invoices and photographs
When Bentley resumed motor-car production after the war, much had changed. Britain needed exports, foreign currency had to be earned and scarce resources used carefully. The days when a customer simply ordered a chassis and then sent it off to the coachbuilder of his choice to be dressed to measure were slowly drawing to a close. Bentley and Rolls-Royce needed a complete motor car, built in greater numbers and at a reasonably predictable price.
It was very much with this in mind that the Bentley Mark VI appeared in 1946. It was the first model from the company to be offered from the factory with a standardised steel body. The so-called ‘Standard Steel Saloon’ cost £2,345 including Purchase Tax and, with its four doors and sliding sunshine roof, was an elegant motor car in its own right. Beneath the bonnet sat a new 4.3-litre straight-six with overhead inlet and side exhaust valves. Little was said about its power output. It was sufficient. Later, capacity grew to 4.6 litres.
Around 80 per cent of all Mark VIs received this standard body. Yet the old world was not to be abandoned altogether. Of the 5,201 chassis built, 999 went to independent coachbuilders. Those with sufficient means and ideas of their own could therefore still have their Bentley dressed to measure.
Hooper & Co. was among the finest addresses for doing so. The venerable London firm supplied royalty and heads of state and was better known for imposing limousines than elegant two-door cars. Which makes this Bentley all the more remarkable.
B92HR was one of only 51 4.3-litre Mark VI chassis bodied by Hooper. The chassis alone cost £1,985. Rarer still was the body itself: only seven Mark VIs received design No. 8282, an unusually elegant two-door coupé created by Hooper’s chief designer Osmond Rivers and christened the ‘Two-Door Empress Saloon’. Its defining line swept in a broad arc from the radiator, along the flanks and towards the characteristic ‘Empress’ rear wings. Given that Hooper built almost exclusively four-door saloons and limousines, the coupé seems almost like a small rebellion against the company’s own traditions. A very well-mannered one, naturally.
Following its final tests, B92HR was delivered to A. Henshaw in Lincolnshire on 12 February 1951. Its second owner was Messrs Lewis (Woollens) Ltd. of London. The Bentley later made its way to the United States and passed through the hands of several enthusiasts. More than two decades ago, Desmond Fitzgerald of Connecticut had the car completely restored by Automotive Restorations in Stratford. A substantial file of meticulously archived invoices begins with the collection of the car on New Year’s Eve 1991. Years later, the rare Bentley emerged in a quality that remains impressive in every respect today. The numerous invoices are accompanied by a photographic record that illustrates the extent of the restoration even more clearly. Today it is finished in period-correct Velvet Green, complemented by green leather and finely figured walnut.
In 2014, the beautiful Bentley came to Austria and was immediately entrusted to a renowned specialist for a thorough inspection. Having now spent a decade well preserved but little driven, at least a service is advisable before it returns to the road. The Mark VI had successfully carried Bentley into the post-war era. This rare coupé, however, shows that not all the old habits had to be abandoned along the way. Series production was all very well. Bespoke tailoring still fitted better.