This car is a 1938 Bentley, Four-and-a-Quarter. She is one of the MR chassis series, commonly referred to as the ‘Overdrive’ variant. Circa 180 examples of these chassis-types were produced in total. Her coachwork is that of a Vanden Plas, Tourer style, body. She was one of the most expensive cars around in her time.

Rolls Royce acquired Bentley in 1931. Soon afterward, they stopped all production at the Cricklewood factory and decided to create an entirely new car at their facility in Derby. Simultaneously, they employed W.O. Bentley [himself] to help develop what are often referred to as ‘Derby Bentley’s’.

W.O. stayed with Rolls Royce / Bentley, until summer 1935 when he left to join Lagonda. – Another fabulous marque of that era

Rolls Royce continued to develop their Bentley cars after the departure of W.O., up to the outbreak of WW2. – The MR & MX series were at the pinnacle of this intensive period of constant improvement.

The ‘Overdrive’ cars were among an elite, and extremely rare category of motor vehicles that could exceed 100mph. They were particularly exceptional because they could hold that speed constantly, without detriment to the engine (unlike most of their few competitors). One, regular production version with a unique, streamlined body, achieved 118mph on an open road in a real world environment.

The car you see here has been created by us – in our workshop at home – with the help of skilled and experienced craftsmen. She now wears this Vanden Plas, Tourer style body, of which only six originals were produced on this chassis type.

Rolls Royce and Bentley motor cars left their respective factories as a complete, drivable chassis, including their distinctive radiator grille, but with no body. They were then dispatched to a coach builder, selected by the client, to have the coachwork of their choice fitted. Very often these bodies had customised modifications as specified by the customer at point of order. Very few cars are 100% exactly the same. Our car is no exception to this general rule.

We have acquired copies of her factory build sheet. This car originally had a Sports Saloon body, fitted by Park Ward (a wholly-owned subsidiary of RR by that time). She was produced specifically for presentation at the 1938 Scottish Motor Show, to be held in Glasgow. It transpired to be the very last of these exhibitions. – She was sold from the stand to the owner of one of the most luxurious hotels in Scotland at the time, ‘Skelmorlie Hydro’ near Wemyss Bay. He was a serial Bentley customer and, along with his brother, an enthusiastic supporter of the marque. 

Only a few months after being delivered, and having covered very few miles (hardly any), the car was laid up at a secure storage facility where she stayed for the duration of the war (plus a few years). These were not times to be seen going around in such an extravagant car; especially with fuel rationing restrictions and at a time when the nation was experiencing such widespread hardship.

She was eventually released from storage in 1951 with just a few miles on her odometer. Her ownership was soon transferred to that of Sir Simon Frazer (Lord Lovat of Beauly Castle), and head of the Frazer Clan. – Sir Simon was a true Scottish war hero: A highly decorated soldier and great leader of men during WW2 (and beyond). – He purchased the car as his wedding gift to his wife. 

Years later, after Lady Lovat had finished with it, the car left Scotland and went through a few owners (all of whom are known), until 1965 when, parked on a beach one Sunday afternoon, she became bogged down and was half-deluged by the incoming tide. She was rescued at the next low tide, then written-off and sent to lay derelict in a scrapyard. Ten years later, in 1975, she was acquired by the previous owner (to us) in dilapidated condition. He told his wife that it was a project he was undertaking for her, and intended to gift it to her upon completion. As a consequence she had no complaints about the time and money he expended on restoring the car. Clearly, he was a clever chap!

He spent the ensuing 30+ years and very large sums of money having various parts of the car – including the engine, gearbox and drive gear – restored to an ‘as new’ condition. This work was undertaken by Fiennes, the very best specialist of this marque at that time. 

A start had also been made to try and create a new body. Unfortunately, by that stage, he had started to run into difficulties: These were his own health related problems, and also the considerable technical challenges he encountered when trying to rebuild her. Not long afterwards the car was laid up in the corner of a barn on his farm and his beloved project was abandoned. His widow subsequently uncovered numerous box files of receipts, detailing his expenditure on AHS 998. Boy was he in trouble, even in the afterlife!

We found her laying in the same position he left her, in May 2021. Following discussions with his widow, and having checked that all the vehicle documentation was entirely correct, we acquired her very soon afterwards. She was to become my fourth significant restoration project of this type.

Many of her components were either missing, incomplete or in need of total overhaul. Following a careful review, we decided that she needed to be stripped back to her chassis and for the restoration / rebuild process to be restarted from the ground up. 

My wife and I love this car. We have loved her from the first moment we encountered her, forlorn and abandoned in the corner of that farmyard barn on that beautiful day. It is our intention to continue to love and enjoy her for as long as we are able to do so.

The very large amount of our time, the significant expense, and the determination to ensure there was no compromise in her build quality, are easily justified. We continue to admire the end result, and acknowledge the huge enjoyment we get from owning and using such a lovely car. We feel it is our duty to take good care of her. 

History had repeated itself: The car became my wedding gift to my wife. I built it for her (we were married in later life). – Every last inch was built with only the very best standard in mind. For us, she is much more than a possession. She is more than a car, she is something extremely special. She has soul.

She remains a ‘matching numbers’ car, completely authentic to her specification, and has been created without compromise nor thought of cost.

Since she was completed, we have taken her back to her homeland; to the address of her first owner. There, she received a lovely reception by the current custodian of Redholm (the name of his house) and she was greeted as an old friend by the folk of Wemyss Bay.

We then took her to Beauly, and visited the estate of the current Lord and Lady Lovat, the grandson of her first ‘true’ custodian. From there we drove her Northwards, along the west coast of Scotland, where she performed as you would expect. She was much admired by all who saw her.

Her colour is ‘Scotland Blue’ (the shirt colour of the national rugby team). Her name is Bonnaidh, Gaelic for ‘Bonnie’, (in English). She still wears her original number plate, along with her original chassis plate, and she is thoroughly enjoyed by us on a frequent basis.