1926 Bentley 3-Litre, Gurney Nutting Weymann Saloon

AP325roadUnited Kingdom

Engine: 3.0L inline-four with original-type Smiths starter and carburettor

Chassis AP325 is the final example of the second series of Bentley 3-Litre cars, bodied by Chelsea coachbuilder J Gurney Nutting in Weymann-style fabric-panelled saloon form and delivered in February 1926. Retaining its original chassis, engine, steering box, and body — including period-correct Smiths starter and carburettor — the car spent many years in obscurity before rediscovery in 1991 and subsequent sympathetic restoration. It presents in pale green leather with period Lucas headlamps and touring trunk.

Ownership

—Auction sale
Sold €138,000 (≈ $152K)
RM Sotheby's catalogue lot →
1926-02-01 →Factory delivery
R S Ruttledge
partial documentation
Original recipient of the car, delivered via Gaffikin Wilkinson salesroom in Colchester.
2007 → 2008
David Cantor
partial documentation
Undertook a careful further restoration during ownership, preserving original mechanical and body components throughout.
2019 →Private sale
Current collector
partial documentation
Acquired for an unnamed collection in 2019; subsequent mechanical attention carried out to maintain the car in good running order.
Date unknown
H S Lee
partial documentation
Listed as owner in a published Bentley reference volume as of 1967, and confirmed by a registration document dated 1973; car appears to have been largely untraced for many years around this period.

Competition

No competition history extracted from the catalogue.

Maintenance & restoration

1990Mechanical
Ten Tenths Ltd
Mechanical restoration carried out, with invoices on file; the work was billed through Ten Tenths Ltd, a concern later dedicated to a prominent collector's fleet.
Documentation exists in the form of invoices; the ultimate commissioning party for this work is not definitively established.
2007
Restoration
Sympathetic comprehensive restoration undertaken over approximately two years, preserving the original chassis, engine, steering box, and coachwork along with the period-correct Smiths starter and carburettor.
Carried out during David Cantor's ownership; restoration philosophy prioritised retention of original components.
2019
Mechanical
Extensive mechanical sorting and rectification work carried out following acquisition for the current collection.

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