1939 Bentley 4¼-Litre Derby Tourer (coachwork by Thrupp & Maberly)
- Engine
- 4.3L OHV inline-six with twin SU carburetors, 126 bhp
- Colour
- Deep blue over black
Chassis B137LE is a 1939 Bentley 4¼-Litre all-weather tourer bodied by Thrupp & Maberly as a four-door, four-passenger convertible, and one of only one hundred LE-specification cars built. Delivered new in June 1939 to J.T. Johnson, it retains its original body, chassis, and engine, making it a fully documented matching-numbers example. Finished in deep blue over black with blue leather and walnut trim, the car is illustrated in two authoritative pre-war Bentley reference works.
Ownership
- —Auction saleEstimate US$300,000 – US$350,000
- 1939-06-01 →Factory deliveryJ.T. Johnsonpartial documentation
Original owner who commissioned Thrupp & Maberly coachwork; took delivery in June 1939.
- 1973 →Acquisition unknownAlfred Kohnepartial documentation
Based in Concord, Massachusetts; ownership duration not specified before passing to the next owner.
- → 2007Acquisition unknownAdrian Westpartial documentation
President of the Rolls-Royce Foundation, known for privacy regarding his vehicles; a restoration was initiated but left incomplete after he fell ill.
- 2007 →Private saleWilliam Fordpartial documentation
Maryland-based owner who had the restoration cosmetically and mechanically refreshed by David L. George Coachworks.
- Date unknownH. Phillipspartial documentation
Subsequent owner after the first owner; no dates or acquisition details provided.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Restoration
The car was fully disassembled in preparation for a complete restoration, but the project was left unfinished when the owner fell ill.
Work initiated during Adrian West's ownership; the car was sold in 2007 in this incomplete state.
- —ServiceDavid L. George Coachworks
An established older restoration was refreshed both cosmetically and mechanically to bring the car back to a high standard.
Work carried out after the 2007 acquisition; described as recent at time of cataloguing.
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