1957 Bentley "Le Mans Type” Special

‘4741 ML’ is a handbuilt recreation that was built from original drawings of the 1929 Le Mans-winning car. A 26-year project by a highly respected engineer, who chose a 1957 Bentley R-Type as the donor vehicle, the V5 registration document describes the car as a ‘Bentley Convertible’.

The engine is a naturally aspirated three-litre inline-six that sends its power to the rear wheels via a four-speed gearbox, while it sits on 19-inch, centre-lock wire wheels and 6.5-19 tyres.

While it is believed that the steering and braking systems were carried over from the donor car, the chassis was fabricated by hand to meet his demanding needs.

The bodywork is a faithful replica and is finished in – what else? – British Racing Green with plenty of chromework, and the interior is trimmed in brown leather with green carpets.

Weatherproofing is somewhat rudimentary but if it wasn’t then it wouldn’t be a faithful replica, would it? Nonetheless you get a black hood that clips into place and a tonneau cover, which is likely to be of more interest to the sort of folk who buy cars like this.

He died before his beloved Bentley Special was completed, and his work was continued by John Brown Vintage Cars after the boss bought it for his personal use.

Roy Lawrence purchased it in turn, and continued to improve it by fitting 1929-style Lucas headlamps, an engine-turned dashboard, period-appropriate numberplates, and other period Bentley parts to bring it to the condition you see it in here.

The seller’s brother bought the Bentley in February 2023 but sadly died before he had a chance to use it much, so details of its history since then are sparse.
 

British Racing Green became an iconic colour for a very good reason, and that reason has never been clearer than here.

It has been resprayed at least once since being completed, and any car with a front as bluff as this is going to collect stonechips and this is no exception.

Nevertheless, it still presents very well indeed, and we can’t think of many cars that wear a developing patina better than a Le Mans Bentley.

The huge Lucas headlamps are in fine fettle. Protected by wire mesh covers, they’re joined by a pair of smaller and similarly protected Lucas ‘King of the Road’ lamps below them.

A pair of modern front indicators have also been fitted, which seems like a sensible compromise to us, as do the rear ones that supplement the Lucas reflectors.

There are a brace of horns at the front, plus a badge bar that trumpets membership of the AA, the VSCC, and the Bentley Drivers’ Club.

The 19-inch wire wheels are painted black. Retained by chromed twin-eared knock-offs, all are in a good condition, including the two spare wheels that are mounted either side on the front cycle wings. These also serve as useful mounting points for the rear-view mirrors, which is rather clever.

Three of the road wheels sport 6-ply 6.5-19 Custom Classic rubber, with the remaining one being an unbranded tyre that has age-induced cracks to the sidewalls.

The two spare wheels are fitted with Dunlop Fort tyres, and these too are old and need changing.

The black hood lacks side screens, so it’s not going to keep you terribly dry in a storm but then you’re tough enough that you don’t need even this, aren’t you?

After all, the Bentley Boys wouldn’t have bothered…

But, you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s in a good condition anyway, with nothing more noteworthy than a few creases where previous owners, like you, haven’t used it.

However, the green tonneau might see more use. Designed to keep your lower half warm while your upper body thrusts itself purposefully into the weather, it also serves as a useful cover when you need to leave the Bentley parked up but don’t want to spoil its lines by erecting the roof.

There are too many other charming details to list here but highlights include the radiator and fuel filler caps, both of which are works of art. There’s a charming brass fuel level gauge mounted on the petrol tank too, and the top of the cabin is finished off with beautifully rounded chunks of real wood.

The laminated windscreen folds down, for that genuine Toad of Toad Hall experience. Or Lawrence of Arabia (although his was a Rolls-Royce of course), storming across the desert, depending on your cultural touchstones.

Flaws, other than the developing patina we’ve already mentioned, include small cracks in the paint on the nearside front wing, on the panel that lies to the right of the steering wheel, and the bonnet scuttle.
 

The cabin is every bit as wonderful as the coachwork; we aren’t familiar enough with the real thing to be able to comment on its authenticity, but it all looks rather fabulous to us.

Witness the suitably large, four-spoke steering wheel with its four-piece wooden rim; almost everything in here reminds you that this is a car that was handbuilt by craftsmen and women rather than robots in China.

Built, not bought.

It features real materials too, like the wooden door footwell, and rear quarter trims. The sublime engine-turned dashboard, alloy accelerator pedal, and the brown leather bucket seats.

The Smiths instruments, two of which have the Bentley logo on them, monitor speed over ground, engine revs, distance covered, oil pressure, battery charge, and coolant temperature.

No clock, because who wants to be reminded of deadlines when you’re driving a car like this?

There’s a cranked gearlever with a wonderfully patinated gearknob, plus an external handbrake, Bentley-branded pedal rubbers, and a wide bench seat in the back that would accommodate half-a-dozen kids – or your elderly mother with the (supplied) blanket tucked around her knees.

And when you’re not giving friends and relatives a stately trundle around the country lanes, twin aeroscreens give driver and passenger a modicum of protection from the wind when the windscreen is folded down and you’re flying along the French Riviera.

There’s a nice green carpet too, plus matching fluffy overmats.

As for its condition, nothing is trying too hard; gently faded, it reeks of old money rather than new, which is exactly as it should be. 
 

The engine maintains the tradition of revelling in its engineering with soldered copper pipes for the coolant and engine breathing systems, braided leads to connect the distributor cap with the half-dozen sparkplugs, a brace of Burgess ‘wet type’ air filters, ventilated front drum brakes, and the Andre Hartford adjustable shock absorbers.

The centre-hinged and ventilated bonnet gives good access to the engine and ancillaries, but should you find it is still a bit tight then removing it completely wouldn’t be difficult.

There’s even space between the engine bay and the bulkhead to store a few tools and spares.

We don’t have much information on the car’s servicing regimen other than what was written in a previous auction listing: “The car was last serviced by R B Autos in Edenbridge, who greased the chassis and replaced the engine oil, oil filter, and coolant.  R B Autos are said to have carried out all previous services during the seller’s three-year ownership. The carburettors have been overhauled.” We think it could be fitted with a BMC C series straight six. The engine number prefix is 29AW which was associated with BMC C series engines fitted in Austin Healey 3000's. 

As you can see, it still starts on the button, idles smoothly, and revs with enthusiasm accompanied by a throaty rasp from the twin carburettors. The exhaust note is pretty darned impressive too, and our photographer thoroughly enjoyed taking it out to shoot it.

The underside features the sort of steel girders Brunel would be familiar with; hefty and almost certainly massively over-engineered, it looks utterly solid and fit for another lifetime of faithful service.

As for work to do, we noticed a couple of ‘chocolate block’ electrical connectors underneath, which you might like to change for something more robust but we haven’t spotted anything else.
 

The Bentley doesn’t have a current MoT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have it MoT’d at the earliest opportunity. The cost of an MoT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic vehicle, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the Bentley comes with a lovely photo album that documents its build as well as a Haynes Manual.

No, we didn’t know you could get one of those either. 
 

Having been charmed by this Bentley Special, we find it incredible that it probably won’t fetch much more than £35,000 – and may even go for as little as £25,000.

Which is astonishing value, even before we remind you that a genuine Bentley Speed Six would set you back a minimum of half-a-million pounds, and while a 4½ Litre might cost less, you’d still be looking at paying more than ten times as much as our upper estimate.

And would they provide ten times as much fun and satisfaction?

No, of course not. In fact, we’d argue they’d be less fun to own because you’d have to be very wealthy indeed to treat a £1.5M car in the same way you would a £25k one…

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