Lot 3191

Gene Ponder Collection

1952 Bentley B Special Speed 8 Tourer by Racing Green Engineering

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$330,000 USD | Sold

United States | Marshall, Texas

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Chassis No.
B34PV
Engine No.
B17P
Documents
US Title
  • Stunning re-creation of Bentley’s world-beating Speed Six, built using period Bentley and Rolls-Royce components
  • Powered by a Rolls-Royce B81 6,516-cc straight-eight engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission
  • Built in 2011 by UK marque specialist Racing Green Engineering
  • A unique opportunity to experience the thrill of a classic open Bentley, with period-correct touches and craftsmanship used throughout

In the pantheon of vintage motorsport, there are few marques more storied than Bentley—and few models more evocative than the open racers that so successfully took to the Circuit de La Sarthe in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Where the delicate grand prix cars of its rivals were often found wanting, the simple, rugged, yet hugely accomplished Bentley Speed Sixes took everything the world’s greatest endurance race could throw at them, building a legend that has endured for a lifetime. Reliving that thrill would be the preserve of just a select few, were it not for the efforts of Racing Green Engineering Limited, a UK-based outfit dedicated to building recreations of the marque’s most lauded models.

Chassis B34PV is one such machine. Built on the chassis of a donor 1952 Bentley Mk VI Standard Steel saloon, it has been fitted with bespoke coachwork comprising an ash frame clothed in aluminum-and-fabric bodywork formed in the image of the famous Speed Six Le Mans.

Period details abound, from the aluminum instrument panel fitted with high-quality reproductions of pre-war gauges and dials, to the cabin trimmed in Connolly hides with Wilton carpets. Exterior features include a fold-flat windscreen complete with racy aero windscreens, and evocative Le Mans-style “eyebrow” wings. The attention to detail continues when you lift the hood, revealing a spectacular Rolls-Royce B81 6,516-cubic-centimeter straight-eight engine fed by four SU H6 carburetors and mated to a user-friendly all-synchromesh four-speed manual transmission.

Perfectly suited to participating in historic driving tours, having been examined and accepted by the Bentley Drivers’ Club Limited Eligibility Committee, this remarkable recreation was built in 2011 and delivered to its German first owner in July of that year. The car returned to Wales and Racing Green Engineering Limited three months later for its first service—as detailed in an accompanying invoice for £2,421—and is thought to have been used sparingly before being exported to the United States in July 2015, where it was offered at auction in April of the following year.

Shortly after its auction appearance, the car was sold via The St. Louis Car Museum. The Bentley is believed to have spent time in a private collection in Lebanon, Missouri, before again being offered at auction in 2020. It later passed through the hands of The Vault—a Jackson, Mississippi-based dealership—before joining the Gene Ponder Collection in February 2021.

Offering the perfect blend of usability and pre-war style, these faithful recreations remain true to the spirit of the period originals, providing an authentic yet wholly accessible route to vintage Bentley ownership.