CREWE CUT FOR MKVI
Gullwing Motors of Astoria, New York, has unearthed another unusual classic: a long-stored coachbuilt Bentley. The 1948 MKVI is fitted with James Young Sedanca Coupé bodywork, with a sliding retractable roof over the front passengers and striking teardrop windows. The recorded mileage is 77,790.
The Bentley’s first owner lived in Oxfordshire, where the car was registered EBW 281 in December 1949 – the original illuminated British numberplate is still on the rear. Below the James Young coachbuilder’s plaque there is another for famed Rolls-royce and Bentley showroom Frank Dale & Stepsons, though whether the firm sold it new or later on is not clear. It is also not known when the car made the trip to the United States, because no history for the MKVI was given except the detail that it had been in storage for 31 years.
That period hidden away has not been kind to the car: the engine is not running, and it will need a complete restoration. With it being right-hand drive and fitted with the unusual sliding-roof coachwork, it will be interesting to see if it will be brought back to the United Kingdom.