1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Vanden Plas Open Four-Seater Sports
- Engine
- 4.5L inline-four with twin SU HVG5 carburetors and twin ML ER4 magnetos
- Colour
- Overall grey with black wheels
Bentley 4½-Litre chassis RL3427 is a matching-numbers 1929 Open Four-Seater Sports bodied by Vanden Plas to body number 1553, built to standard specification for Scottish agents Rossleigh Ltd and first registered DS1567 on 1 April 1929. Remarkably intact after nearly a century, it retains its original engine, gearbox, instruments, and body fabric. Its ownership history spans Major E.G. Thomson of Edinburgh, Scottish collector John Cuthill Sword, who kept it for over six decades, and Conservative MP and motoring writer Alan Clark, before passing through several prominent European collectors and ultimately to Paul Andrews.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$1,105,000
- 1929-04-01 → 1930-08-01Factory deliveryMajor E.G. Thomsonfull documentation
Edinburgh and Peeblesshire resident; registered the car as DS1567 on delivery. Minor steering repairs were handled by Bentley mechanics during his ownership.
- 1930-08-01 →Private saleA.J.H. Mowbraypartial documentation
Based at Easter Livilands, Stirling; Bentley mechanics continued service work after his acquisition. The car may have been transferred soon after to another family member.
- 1931 → 1992Acquisition unknownJohn Cuthill Swordfull documentation
Prominent early Scottish automobile collector; the car remained with the Sword family for over six decades and was loaned to the Glasgow Transport Museum until 1992. Sale documentation noted family possession since 1931.
- 1992 → 2003AuctionRt. Hon. Alan Clarkpartial documentation
Former Conservative MP, military historian, and motoring writer; purchased at the 1992 Sotheby's sale. A specialist assessed the car as exceptionally original in 1997 while still in his care.
- 2003 → 2003Acquisition unknownProminent European collectornone documentation
Identity not specified; transitional ownership between Clark and Reeve.
- 2003 → 2005Private salePeter Reevepartial documentation
- 2005 →Private saleMartin Chisholmpartial documentation
- → 2016Private saleShane Houlihanpartial documentation
Carried out light cosmetic work including a grey repaint and partial interior retrim in black leather; exhibited the car at Hampton Court in 2014.
- 2016 → 2018Private saleSouthern US performance car collectionpartial documentation
First time the car left the United Kingdom; held within a high-calibre collection of performance automobiles in the southern United States.
- 2018 →Private salePaul Andrewspartial documentation
Acquired for enthusiastic road use; carburettor and brakes were rebuilt and the car maintained in drive-ready condition throughout his stewardship.
Competition
- 2014Concours of Elegance, Hampton Court
Car was displayed during Shane Houlihan's ownership following light cosmetic restoration work.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1930RepairBentley Motors
Straightening of steering components following a minor accident, carried out by Bentley factory mechanics.
Work spanned through November 1930 and covered the period both before and after the August 1930 change of ownership.
- —Bodywork
Body refinished, front seat upholstery and padding renewed, new carpets fitted, and more recent paint applied; original fabric underneath the bodywork was preserved.
Undated; noted as predating the most recent ownership changes.
- —Bodywork
Cosmetic refurbishment including a repaint in grey and a partial interior retrim in black leather, carried out during Shane Houlihan's ownership.
- —Mechanical
Carburetors and brakes rebuilt to keep the car in road-ready condition.
Carried out during Paul Andrews' ownership as part of routine upkeep for continued driving use.
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