THE iconic Pre-War Drophead Coupe, here we have a 1937 Bentley 4¼ Litre Drophead Coupe by Park Ward, nicely restored, she is finished in Midnight Blue with Beautiful Red Leather Interior. She is a beautiful car in all respects and is ready to form the centrepiece of a new collection! The market has adjusted in recent years and this car is available for roughly half the price it would have attracted just a few years ago, now is the time to enjoy this wonderful car at an extremely attractive price!

Although Rolls-Royce's acquisition of Bentley Motors in 1931 had robbed the latter of its independence, it did at least ensure the survival of the Bentley name. Launched in 1933, the first of what would become known as the 'Derby' Bentleys continued the marque's sporting associations, but in a manner even more refined than before. Based on the contemporary Rolls-Royce 20/25, the 3½-Litre Bentley was slightly shorter in the wheelbase at 10' 6" and employed a tuned (115bhp), twin-SU-carburettor version of the former's 3,669cc overhead-valve six-cylinder engine. Add to this already remarkable package a four-speed gearbox (with synchromesh on the top three gears) and servo assisted brakes, and the result was a vehicle offering the driver effortless high performance in almost absolute silence. 'The Silent Sports Car', as it was quickly dubbed, had few peers as a tireless long-distance tourer, combining as it did traditional Rolls-Royce refinement with Bentley performance and handling. Even W O Bentley himself acknowledged that the 3½-Litre model was the finest ever to bear his name.

By the end of the 1930s the 'Derby' Bentley, introduced towards the beginning of that decade following the firm's take-over by Rolls-Royce, had undergone a number of significant developments, not the least of which was an increase in bore size in 1936 that upped the capacity to 4,257cc, a move that coincided with the adoption of superior Hall's Metal bearings. This new engine was shared with the equivalent Rolls-Royce - the 25/30hp - and as had been the case with the preceding 3½-Litre model, enjoyed a superior specification in Bentley form, boasting twin SU carburettors, raised compression ratio and a more 'sporting' camshaft. Thus the new 4¼-Litre model offered more power than before while retaining the well-proven chassis with its faultless gear change and servo-assisted brakes. As before, bespoke coachwork was the order of the day, owner-driver saloon and drophead coupé bodies, being the norm, with Park Ward among the most desiarable.

We are delighted to offer this 1937 Bentley 4¼ Litre, chassis B111JY, with its original Drophead Coupé bodywork by Park Ward, which has only recently arrived back in Britain after more than 50 years in single enthusiast ownership in California. Constructed during the winter of 1937, B111JY’s final specification included a Smiths speedometer and rev counter, a Weston ammeter, Dunlop wire wheels with India tyres, a Bentley radiator cap mascot, and a steering column one inch longer than standard. The chassis was tested on 5th February and delivered to Park Ward on 13th. Its first owner was a well-connected individual and a loyal Bentley enthusiast, Mr. H. W. L. Puxley of Langley End, near Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He had previously owned a vintage Three Litre model and, it seems, liked to be at the vanguard of automobile ownership – this early 4¼ Litre would have served as an upgrade to his 1934 3½ Litre (also from the early months of production), which was similarly equipped with Park Ward Drophead Coupé coachwork. Originally registered ‘DXM 223’, the completed B111JY was delivered to him on 1st April, 1937.

Henry Waller Lavallin Puxley (1898-1973) was the latest in a succession of Henry Puxleys, whose ancestral home was Dunboy Castle in Ireland. Also known as Hill End, Langley End originated as several farms which were sold as a package in 1910 and received new buildings by Edwin Lutyens. Completed by 1912, the main Langley End house was a handsome Georgian Revival edifice, and one of the last blossomings of the English country house tradition. The Puxleys had moved in by the 1930s, and, in 1940, Henry and his wife Naumai ‘Paddy’ (née Guinness) welcomed as a paying guest Daphne du Maurier, whose husband Tommy was in military service and stationed nearby. It was there that she wrote Frenchman’s Creek in 1941, and her interest in the Puxleys inspired 1943’s Hungry Hill, but she departed in 1942 after Paddy discovered that she and ‘Christopher’ – Daphne's pet name for Henry – had become excessively fond of one another.

By 1969, the car had entered the hands of Californians Deane Leo Crow and Dr. Laurence J. Crow and carried the registration number ‘XCT 863’. The Crows kept the Bentley at a large, handsome Modernist property in La Mesa, in the hills beyond San Diego, before moving to Salinas circa 1991. After more than 50 years in the Crow family, the Bentley was repatriated to Britain in 2020, but it