1951 Bentley Mk VI

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.

Alternatives to the Bentley Mk VI are the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith (a variant), the Alvis Three Litre TC 21/100 Grey Lady, and the Jaguar Mark V.