Lot 13: 1936 BENTLEY 4¼ LITER SPORTS COUPÉ

The ex-Hugh Hunter, Donald Campbell, Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts' Club Concours Class-winning

COACHWORK BY VANDEN PLAS

Body No. 3515, Design No. 1386

Former UK
Black over terracotta with terracotta leather interior

Engine: six cylinder, in-line, overhead valve, 4,257cc; Gearbox: four speed manual, synchromesh on third and fourth, with modern Fiennes overdrive unit fitted (see text); Suspension: front and rear, semi-elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: four wheel drum with mechanical servo assis. Right hand drive.

Hugh Hunter was one of a now extinct breed of wealthy young sportsmen whose life existed solely for pleasure, and throughout was untroubled by the encumbrance of work while his family's printing business funded his lifestyle. Hunter's passions were perhaps best summarized in an article by Dennis May in The Motor in January 1946, entitled 'The Hughbiquitous Hunter', when he commented that Hunter had five hobbies "cars, horseback riding, his house, ski-ing and a stack of drawings which, will be translated into an 80ft. twin screw motor yacht!"

But, it is fair to say that cars were the closest to his heart and once bitten by the bug, Hunter amassed a series of ever increasingly sporting models. Within a short time span he had upgraded from a trials Austin Seven, to a Riley Nine, then on to a Frazer Nash T.T. Replica, later a Frazer Nash B.M.W. and by the end of the 1930s was owner of the world's fastest road car - an Alfa Romeo 2.9 (chassis 412031, an ex-Mille Miglia car). In each of these cars he was a prolific competitor in all forms of motor sport ranging from speed trials, road races, hillclimbs and many events at Brooklands. In one weekend alone he ran his 328 in the High Speed Trial at Brooklands on the Saturday morning, his Alfa at the Brighton Speed Trials in the afternoon and the following day campaigned both Alfa and BMW at Prescott Hillclimb. He was certainly successful, achieving numerous awards including three M.C.C. Triple awards, and his capabilities behind the wheel increased with the stature of the cars. Perhaps the two most notable points in his racing career were firstly in 1939 when he raced the 2.9 at the May BARC Whitsun meeting (dubbed the world's fastest road car race) the first stage of which he won and in 1950 when he partnered with H.S.F. Hay in the 'Embiricos' Bentley at Le Mans.

Unlike many of his contemporaries he shared an equal enthusiasm for concours d'elegances and with these in mind, mid-way through 1936, Hunter commissioned the building of his first of many Bentley motor cars. He was extremely precise in every detail, and worked with Vanden Plas on its styling a series of detail drawings, to construct one of the most graceful closed cars ever to grace these chassis. Initially, the car was styled with a full rendition in a deep burgundy color, before Hunter settled on a more striking livery of black over terracotta over black, which would accentuate the lines of the collaborated faux cabriolet-style sports coupé.

The Bentley was beautifully designed, drawing on all of the techniques of the period to enhance its rakish lines, from close coupled seating to keep the roof line low, to extended scuttle louvres and its two tone livery, and even its spare wheel was neatly concealed, set into the rear of the body so as not to detract from the side profile. The car was also equipped with a whole host of detail features which included sunroof, opening windscreen, internal third windscreen wiper for demisting the screen, fold down panel to enable the trunk to be driven while open and therefore increasing its capacity. Its interior matched the exterior being terracotta leather, piped in black.

Right from the outset the car was no ordinary Bentley, and was christened 'Emmy' owing to its UK registration number 'EMY 4', this itself being chosen by Hunter to fit numerically in sequence with the other cars in his stable, his 2.9 being 'JML 1', Fiat Topolino 'DXV 2' and Frazer Nash BMW 'DXV 3'!

Hugh Hunter took delivery of 'Emmy' at the end of 1936, with its first real test being the Monte Carlo Rally in January 1937, which started in Vienna, and it is understood that the car took thirds for the engine and comfort prizes at this event. A month later he toured the Bentley home through Cannes, St. Moritz and Pontrisina. In the middle of the year, Hunter entered 'Emmy' in its first concours, the Eastbourne Concours d'Elegance, where it won The Motor trophy and two other first prizes. Buoyed by this success he continued to take it to a number of other such coastal events, including Ramsgate in 1938, where it took a first - the award for this still being with the car today.

Throughout this period, the car was meticulously photographed by Hunter, and more extraordinarily was filmed on Cine-film in color, 'Emmy' fitting neatly between various campaigning of his Frazer-Nash BMW and 2.9 Alfa Romeo. Much of this material still exists and has been transferred to DVD to accompany the car; they are in themselves a remarkable account of a bygone era.

Hunter kept the Bentley until the late 1940s, when he upgraded it to a Mark VI, selling 'Emmy' to his friend Donald Campbell on 30th May 1949, as recorded in its British log book. Campbell kept the car for nearly a year and was responsible for painting the car gray, after which it passed through a handful of owners, later being sold to America.

Early in 1998, after years of talking of his uncle's motoring pursuits, Hugh Hunter's nephew was commissioned to research the Bentley and to see if it still existed.

The car was sourced in Oregon, where it had resided with resident and enthusiast Jim Blackaby for many years. Soon after its acquisition Blackaby had removed the bodywork from the chassis and begun to tackle a restoration of the mechanical components, the aspect which interested him most as an engineer. Over time his enthusiasm had waned, and the project had not progressed for many years. The prospect of a new custodian finishing the work attracted Blackaby greatly and he parted with the car.

The Bentley was sent to the United Kingdom, and handed over to renowned restorers Alpine Eagle of Little Clanfield, Oxon. Upon a comprehensive assessment of the car it was clear that whilst the car was complete in almost every detail it would require a complete restoration to return it to its former concours winning form.

This work was commenced in late 1998 and continued for a further four years to June 2002, during which time the bodywork was completely refurbished, and all mechanics rebuilt or overhauled where necessary. There was never any hesitation as to the livery that would be chosen for the car, and when beneath the dour gray paintwork the original terracotta could be seen, this was sealed. Similarly, although darkened over time (and possibly re-colored at the seams of the upholstery), it was possible to find the original trim colors. Both were matched perfectly to return the car to its former glory, as was every original detail feature. Sensible modern additions of turn signals were discreetly incorporated into the front and rear fenders, and as a tribute to Hunter who loved to listen to music in the car, a modern stereo with CD has been housed beneath the dash.

The car made its first re-entry to the concours circuit in June 2002, when it was entered in the Derby Bentley class of the Rolls-Royce Annual Rally. It competed against a busy crowd of more than 30 cars at this ever well-supported event to take first class. Returning a year later as a guest in the Masters class, it again was honored.

Throughout the rebuild and in post-restoration de-bugging, the intention has always been to make the car as usable as possible and with this in mind it was fitted with a Fiennes overdrive unit. As testified by the cataloguer, the car cruises comfortably at 70mph, and the driving experience is almost akin to modern coupés with a light airy cabin. In addition, the car recently received a new cylinder head.

The current ownership has always considered themselves to be custodians of the Bentley and with the returning of the car to the road achieved, it is felt that they have achieved their goals and that they wish to pass the car to a new enthusiast for their enjoyment.

Offered with the original Vanden Plas coachwork design and pre-design sketches, Hugh Hunter's original suitcases were reunited with the car in recent times as were the original swatches of paint, leather and carpet. Copies of the factory records from Bentley, also accompany the car together with the aforementioned color film DVD of the car in the immediate pre- and post-War periods.

A Derby Bentley is an immensely versatile, straight-forward to operate and usable machine, arguably years ahead of its time and certainly with its good turn of speed and ease of use, is an extremely practical touring car in modern road conditions. This very special example offers its purchaser all of these benefits, together with a unique provenance and exquisite style. Never before shown at concours in America or Europe, it remains in immaculate order and in our opinion has huge future potential at the highest of these levels.