1938 Bentley 4 1/4 Litre 'Disappearing Hood' Sports Tourer

A handsome 'Derby' Bentley with unique coachwork, chassis number 'B190LS' was delivered new in April 1938 to Sir John Jarvis, Conservative Member of Parliament for Guildford in Surrey, who is best known for his philanthropic and industrial efforts to assist the Tyneside town of Jarrow during the economic depression years of the 1930s.

Originally registered 'EXP 1', the Bentley was bodied by Hooper & Co, London-based carriage makers to Queen Victoria and King Edward VII and arguably the finest of all British coachbuilders.

Described in factory records as a 'special sports tourer', it features wind-up windows and a fully retractable convertible hood which, when erected, offers 'all-weather' protection. A Bosch wireless set also formed part of the original specification.

Sir John Jarvis died late in 1950 and the following January the Bentley was purchased by Harold Webb of Rickmansworth, who kept the car until 1963 when it was sold to the Duchesne family of Wimborne, Dorset.

The Bentley was subsequently sold to Leonard Potter of Newbury, a well-known motoring personality and connoisseur of fine automobiles. Mr Potter kept the Bentley for three years, during which time a complete restoration was undertaken.

The engine was rebuilt and tuned by Daniel Richmond of the famous Downton Engineering, who, among other things, raised the compression ratio and fitted Bensport manifolds and Bentley Continental carburettors and exhaust system.

Downton Engineering also rebuilt the gearbox, brakes and suspension. The engine tune is said to have resulted in greatly increased power without loss of reliability, and Potter noted that the car had superlative road performance and would exceed 100mph while returning an excellent 20-plus miles per gallon.

In October 1966 Potter sold 'B190LS' to the late Jack Nethercutt, whose famous Nethercutt Collection is recognised as one of the world's finest.

The Bentley remained in the Nethercutt Collection in San Sylmar, California for five decades, benefiting from regular expert maintenance and limited usage in the region's dry and sunny climate. Without question it is Nethercutt's sympathetic custodianship that ensured the car's survival.

Our vendor purchased the Bentley at a UK auction in June 2011 and it has spent most of the intervening years as part of a private collection in Romania.

The car comes with an Oldtimertaxatie Valuation Report dated April 2024. This report concludes that the car, which starts and runs, is 'complete and in very original condition but in need of restoration/reconditioning'. The car ran upon the photoshoot in March 2025 but we have not had it running since.

'B190LS' has featured in many books on the marque, including Johnnie Green's Bentley - 50 Years of the Marque, and Bentley - The Silent Sportscar by Michael Ellman-Brown.

This is an historically important and stylish Derby Bentley with great provenance and significant history, finished in its attractive original livery of Royal Blue with black wings.

The car has not been used since acquisition and will require recommissioning before returning to the road. 

The car’s highly unusual ‘Disappearing ‘Hood’ specification really sets it apart from other open 4¼ Sports Tourers, and particularly when the beige fabric hood is up, when it assumes a distinctly rakish and rather 1930’s American coupé aesthetic.

The replacement hood appears to be in good, but clearly used, condition.

The Royal Blue over Black paintwork has held up fairly well, although there are scuffs, scratches and stone chips of a largely normal number and distribution throughout.

Scratches and scuffs are most in evidence on the car’s rear wheel-arches.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are in accordance with a hand-built 1930’s Bentley, and any instances of corrosion are nascent and, as far as we can tell, minimal.

The wheels are decent, the tyres are probably a little long in the tooth.

The chrome and brightwork is pretty good everywhere, with just an expected amount of age-related foxing.

The car’s lights, lenses, badging and exterior fixtures and fittings are all pretty reasonable but, in common with the rest of the car’s exterior, look as if they could do with a decent clean and polish.
 

Condition-wise, the interior is very much the equivalent of its exterior counterpart: it is pretty original and authentic but would clearly thank its next owner for some cleaning, feeding, polishing and lashings of restorative elbow grease.

The beige-coloured carpets are a little baggy, loose and faded in places but are not, we’re confident, beyond redemption.

A subtle but we think rather cheery shade of pale blue, the leather upholstery is showing its age in a few places and there are some cracks and splits to the leather on the front seats and numerous scuffs and creases elsewhere.

The dashboard, dials, instruments, steering wheel and other controls all look to be in very good condition although we can’t vouch for their efficacy or accuracy as we haven’t driven the car.
 

The car’s mechanical profile consists primarily of a 4,257 cc OHV inline six-cylinder engine, single-dry-plate clutch and four-speed manual transmission.

Everything in the engine bay looks acceptably clean, dry and in its right and proper place.

The car has a forged front beam axle with half-elliptic leaf springs front and rear, hydraulic Rolls-Royce dampers, and rod-operated drum brakes.

We know that it has been started and running in very recent times, but its long stint of inactivity suggests that some light recommissioning would be the order of the day.

The car’s undersides appear to be possessed of plenty of structural integrity.
 

The car currently has temporary import status and comes with very little by way of contemporary history, save for the 2024 Oldtimer appraisal and some Romanian registration documents.

But it is so well-known in Bentley circles that you’ll be able to read about it in several books, discover it popping up at various auctions over the years and, no doubt, research it as much as you like inside Bentley’s cavernous archival vaults. 
 

This well-known, storied and historically important car comes with a great deal of fascinating provenance and ownership history.

With its Hooper coachwork and ‘Disappearing Hood’ configuration, it is as rare and distinctive as it is classy and elegant.

Yes, it needs a little light mechanical recommissioning and is ripe for sensitive restoration, but the originality and authenticity of this exceptional car will surely make the work involved more than worthwhile and, we expect, exceptionally rewarding.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £75,000 - £85,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Blackmoor, Hampshire. To arrange an appointment to inspect this vehicle, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.