Gallery Aaldering is offering this Bentley 3½ litre “Streamline” by Park Ward & Co for sale.
1933 Bentley 3½ litre “Streamline” by Park Ward & Co
- Unique one-off “Streamline” Saloon Bentley
Collectors item - Early-built Bentley after being taken over by Rolls Royce
- Ordered by Jack Barclay Ltd for Mr.Nicholson Esq of Sheffield
- Pioneering example of streamlined coachworks
- Winner of the premier award “Coachwork Competition” in 1934 (The Motor-magazine)
Downsizing is timeless. Bentley and Rolls-Royce had of course been credited with being responsible for the fastest trucks in the world thanks to Ettore Bugatti. “The world’s fastest Lorry” said Ettore Bugatti, who might have been a bit sour by the fact that those great British robbers kept his refined little Bugatti’s off the Le Mans victory for 5 years.
The British would not have cared about it, but there was still room for smaller cars. Rolls-Royce had taken over Bentley and started building so-called Derby Bentleys. These cars were given the name “Derby” due to the fact that they were built in the Derby factory of Rolls-Royce. However, it was not really a car. At that time you bought a chassis with an engine and transmission and brakes. The so-called “rolling chassis”. What you did in that time was go to a manufacturer and order a rolling chassis. Then it was important to have that rolling chassis fitted with the bodywork of your choice by your favorite coachbuilder. A bit the way superyachts are built today. We can therefore conclude that choice stress is simply part of life for the rich and famous.
However, this copy was not ordered by a customer but built by Park Ward itself. This car was a moving billboard for Park Ward’s view that a car should be constructed. It is a rare beautiful design. Not only do Gallery Aaldering thinks so, but also the jury in 1934 at the Concours de Charme in Bournemouth. Completely justified of course when we look at the beautiful way in which this Streamline is built. In full this concerns a: Bentley 3 ½ DB Series A Streamline Saloon by Park Ward. The car was first admitted to traffic in 1933. The car was sold by Bentley and Rolls-Royce dealer Jack Barclay in London. The car has had only three owners since then and is still in very good condition.
The technology has been very well maintained over the years. This is of course a real Bentley, so although the figures are not earth-shattering by today’s standards, they were at the time. The ultimate compliment was given by none other than WO. Bentley himself. He had already left his own company several years earlier, but gave the Derby Bentleys the ultimate compliment: it is a car I could buy myself and of everything they make, the only one I would buy.
It is not only the engine and transmission that are well maintained, but also the brakes and the chassis function as they should. The engine is a so-called Rolls-Royce Peregrini engine that is 3.5 liters in size and produces about 110 hp. The engine is equipped with two SU carburettors and gives the car a top speed of around 90 kilometers per hour. The engine is mated to a four-speed manual transmission fitted with synchromesh rings on third and fourth gears. What may be called striking is that the chassis weighs only 1,140 kilos drivable.
The Streamline is therefore a very light car for that time.
The car has been in the possession of one owner for the past 35 years, who has cherished the car beautifully as befits a car of this stature. The Bentley is therefore still in good condition, which is completed by the new leather, which is carried out in the exact Bentley specifications and color scheme. In short, a very rare, beautiful Bentley from the Derby series with a wonderful history. The car comes with the original manual, a quick guide and an old British car magazine in which the Streamline is described. Unique!
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