Bentley 3.5-Litre (1935)

A well proportioned, ‘Cutaway Door’, four seater tourer, bodied many years ago to a good standard, very much along the lines of a contemporary Vanden Plas design, sought after by many. Although slightly scruffy cosmetically, the car is sound, running well, driving nicely, with a sweet engine, recently fitted with a new aluminium cylinder head as well as benefitting from an oil filter conversion. We get the sense that the engine may have been overhauled in the not too distant past, but we have no way of proving this due to lack of evidence. A good car, sensibly priced compared to an original bodied similar example, and in many ways in ideal condition to use and enjoy, perhaps with a few improvements. Lots of potential and very sensibly priced. After many years overseas, the car has been repatriated and is now back on its original UK registration number and MoT tested until November 2017.

SALE AGREED

Chassis No. B192DG Reg No. BXM 513 Price £95,000

Snippets: Speed & Fun
The chassis cards of B192DG show the retailer was none other than H M Bentley & Partner of Hanover Court – H. M. Bentley being Horace Millner, the brother of W. O. Bentley – the brothers started their 1st business together in 1912 as “Bentley & Bentley” selling the French DFP cars (Doriot, Flandrin & Parant) – W. O. Bentley improved the performance of these cars & won several races at Brooklands setting new records for Class B in 1912 (66.78mph over 10 laps), 1913 (75.12mph) & in 1914 he also achieved a flying mile of 89.7mph in a 2ltr DFP – after which the sales of the DFPs rapidly increased. The first owner of B192DG was Massey Henry Edgcumbe Lopes (1903/1992) – in 1938 upon the death of his father (Sir Henry Lopes) Massey Lopes inherited the title of Lord Roborough, the 2nd Baron. The Lopes family tree can be traced back to Jamaica where in the 1700s Mordecai Lopes owned a sugar plantation from which he made his fortune, in the late 1700s, the Lopes family settled in London & upon Mordecai’s death in 1796 his son Mannaseh Massey Lopes inherited substantial wealth with which he purchased the estate at Maristow, Devon. Mannaseh Lopes immersed himself in both local & national politics and land management, upon his death in 1831 he had increased his land holding to that of in excess of 30,000 acres. As Sir Mannaseh did not have a son his estate was inherited by his nephew (his sister’s son) Ralph Franco who upon his inheritance altered his name to that of Lopes. In 1925 Massey H. E. Lopes joined the Royal Scot Greys and whilst serving with them he played on the Polo team which won the Inter-Regimental cup both in 1933 & 1938. Prior to the death of his father (1938) Massey Lopes was aide-de-camp to G. Villiers (6th Earl of Clarendon) who was the Governor-General of S. Africa, upon his father’s death Massey Lopes resigned from the regiment but upon the outbreak of WWII he rejoined and was twice wounded. Having spoken to Sir Massey Lopes’ son George it has become clear that B192DG was “mothballed” during this period, George can remember sitting in the passenger seat of B192DG whilst en-route to the Coronation, and his father saying “you watch the speedo & I’ll watch the road” – the speed achieved that day was a grand 82mph!! During the 1960s B192DG was re-bodied by Vincents of Reading into a shooting brake which did not aesthetically appeal to Sir Massey and he sold the car in the 1970s to a Mr Bennett. After selling B192DG Sir Massey did not purchase another Bentley as the later models did not appeal “only two reasons to buy a Bentley – Speed & Fun” – You can’t argue with that statement.

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