Bentley commemorates ninety years since the first 312 liter vehicle rolled onto a pavement. A unique 1939 MkV Corniche was driven for the first time in 84 years to commemorate the event.
The 312 Liter was known by Bentley as “The Silent Sports Car.” And that was logical. It was smooth, quick, polished, and a dream in terms of elegance and riding comfort. It also had incredible insulation for the period. Between 1933 and 1939, Bentley built about 2,400 of these vehicles in Derby, with about 500 being made each year. At the time, the engine’s 120 horsepower was fairly outstanding.
90 years after the Bentley 3 1/2 Litre, commonly known as the Derby Bentley, was first unveiled, 60 Bentleys of the Derby era met at the Dream Factory. A total of 117 Derby Bentleys were there, convoying to the production center in Crewe. The event was set up by The Silent Sports Car Club, dedicated to the Derby Bentley. More than 100 guests went on a tour of the campus to explore Bentley’s newly refurbished Heritage Collection and see the Mulliner Workshops with their own eyes.
They also got the chance to look at the 1934 Bentley 3½ Litre with coachwork by Thrupp & Maberley. The model was on display in the newly opened Lineage area. That is where eight pre-war automobiles of the Heritage Collection get the admiration looks.
The crown jewel is the recently restored one-of-one 1939 Mark V Corniche. The car never made it to production. But the Corniche stands as the model which linked the pre-war Ebiricos 4¼ Litre with the R Type Continental of 1952.
The one-off has been recently re-registered and, for the first time in 84 years, it returned to the road.
More than 40 different coach builders created the model’s custom bodywork in the 1930s. To commemorate the occasion, many of their pieces traveled to Cheshire. There was chassis number B15AE, one of the two initial launch vehicles built in September 1933. The sole survivor of four experimental six-cylinder saloons from 1939, chassis number 3-B-50, was also present.
The 312 Litre was succeeded by the upgraded 412 Litre, which had cylinder bores that were one-fourth of an inch bigger, output that was boosted to 125 horsepower, a few cosmetic changes, and a top speed that was lifted from 90 mph (145 kph) to 96 mph (154 kph). These all cost an additional 50 pounds. Bentley started producing more 412 Litre vehicles than 312 Litre examples by 1939.
These were the first cars that Bentley produced under the Rolls-Royce ownership. It was the era of iconic one-offs, and this 1939 MkV Corniche is one of them. Chassis number B53AE, registration number AXB3, the four-door saloon was delivered by dealer Jack Barclay to its first owner, Alex Mitchel of Mulligan Castle in Scotland, in early 1934. He kept the car until World War I started.
The car was utterly lost for a spell. It was found in an East Otis, Massachusetts barn three decades later, in 1968. Charles H. Wolfe of Lancaster, Philadelphia, bought it in 1987. He sold the vehicle to Bentley Motors in 2004. For the first time in 84 years, that very automobile went outside to get some fresh air.
2023 also marks the 20th anniversary of the almighty W12 that Bentley is retiring. The power plant has already vanished from the lineup of the refreshed Bentayga.