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Articles
14 November 2006
1926 Bentley 3 Litre Boattail Speedster by Vanden Plas
In the earliest years of the Classic Era, that brief time before standard and semi-custom coachwork became de rigueur, nearly all automobiles combined the works of a chassis manufacturer with that of an independent coachbuilder. They were what we could call the two cars in every classic; that which was seen, and that which was most often not — the rolling chassis.
In the earliest years of the Classic
Era, that brief time before standard and semi-custom
coachwork became de rigueur, nearly all automobiles
combined the works of a chassis manufacturer with that
of an independent coachbuilder. They were what we could
call the two cars in every classic; that which
was seen, and that which was most often not — the
rolling chassis.
The Classic Unseen
Automotive manufacturing as an industry had seen little
more than three decades when W.O. Bentley introduced
his first car in 1919. The premier model of this new
marque, the 3 Litre chassis, went into series production
the following year.
To automotive engineers such as Bentley, the motorcar
was that which was found beneath the outer body. Bow
a chassis was clothed was strictly a matter of
taste, but how it ran was a matter of fact. For
Bentley, it was methodic, consistent, and reliable fact.
Enough so that, from the start, Bentley Motors, Ltd.
guaranteed each of its 3 Litre chassis for five years!
Continued...
