Review Bentley Mark VI

The Bentley Mark VI marked a radical change for Rolls-Royce. It was the first car to be offered by the company with factory built coachwork. The Standard Steel Saloon body was produced at Pressed Steel's factory. Powered by a six cylinder in-line F-head engine (inlet over exhaust) with a capacity of originally 4,257 cc the car performed really impressive. From those coachbuilders who had remained in business but few were able to significantly enhance the balanced lines of the standard coachwork. About 20 % of the Bentley Mark VIs' were fitted with coachbuilt bodies. From 1949 left hand drive MkVIs were available; from 1951 onward an engine with increased capacity of 4.566 cc did improve performance.

The Bentley Mark VI is an automobile from Bentley which was produced from 1946 to 1952.The Mark VI 4-door standard steel sports saloon was the first post-war luxury car from Bentley. Announced in May 1946 and produced from 1946 to 1952 it was also both the first car from Rolls-Royce with all-steel coachwork and the first complete car assembled and finished at their factory. These very expensive cars were a genuine success; long-term, their weakness lay in the inferior steels forced on them by government's post-war controls.Chassis continued to be supplied to independent coachbuilders. Four-door Saloon, two-door saloon and drophead coupe models with bodies by external companies were listed by Bentley along with the Bentley-bodied saloon.

This first Bentley factory finished car was given the name Bentley Mark VI standard steel sports saloon. This shorter wheelbase chassis and engine was a variant of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith of 1946 and, with the same standard steel body, became the cautiously introduced Silver Dawn of 1949. In 1952 both Rolls Royce Silver Dawn and Bentley Mk VI standard steel bodies were modified to incorporate a boot of about twice the size and the result became known as the R type Bentley based on the Chassis number at which the change took place.The name of the Rolls Royce Silver Dawn was not changed after the modification that started with the "E" series in these cars.

The Bentley Mk VI is a four-door saloon built between 1946 and 1952. It has a front engine, rear wheel drive configuration and was aimed at the luxury cars market. Other body styles were created by notable coachbuilders.

As British industry adopted the “export or die” motto in the immediate post-war years, Rolls-Royce designed a model aimed at a broader American market. The Bentley Mark VI was the result, and Rolls-Royce probably owes its survival to the model.

In 1946, Rolls-Royce moved its production from Derby to Crewe and began building complete cars. The first new Bentley was the Mark VI, based on the 1939 Park Ward-designed Mark V. The new car used the same independent front suspension and an inlet-over-exhaust valve six-cylinder engine of 4,257 cc, which was increased to 4,566 cc in 1951. The cars had centralised lubrication, and all were fitted with four-speed manual gearboxes.

The Mark VI was the first Rolls-Royce produced with a steel body (now referred to as “Standard Steel” models), and all factory-bodied cars were four-door saloons with sliding sunroofs. Coachbuilders such as Park Ward, James Young, H.J. Mulliner, Freestone and Webb, Graber, Pininfarina, and Saoutchik also offered drop head coupes, limousines, sedancas and other exotic interpretations. The Mark VI sold for £4,038, including purchase tax. In all 5,201 would be built over a six-year period before the model was replaced by the longer and more elegant Bentley R-Type in 1952.

The Bentley Mark VI standard steel saloon compares favourably to modern machinery, with 150 bhp from the larger engine and top speed around 100 mph. The leather seats, walnut veneers and no-nonsense instruments are tasteful and timeless. Despite the sombre styling, this is a responsive, nimble, quiet, and torquey road car. The Bentley Mark VI is one of the few cars from this period that can comfortably be driven long distances.

The cost of restoring a Mark VI saloon can be several times the car’s market value; however, once repaired, a Mark VI is relatively inexpensive to maintain and can ably serve as a daily driver. As such, an honest Bentley Mk VI can be a good introduction to classic motoring. Of course, the same does not hold true for a car with deferred maintenance, so buy with diligence, and insist on service records whenever possible.