Manufacturer Bentley Motors Limited Assembly Cricklewood, London | Production 1931
50 produced Class Luxury car | |
Designer Walter Owen Bentley,
Harry Ricardo Body style as arranged with coachbuilder by customer | ||
The Bentley 4 Litre was a motor car built on rolling chassis made by Bentley Motors Limited. The 4 litre chassis was conceived and built in a failed attempt to restore Bentley to a good financial state. Announced 15 May 1931, it used a modified four litre Ricardo IOE engine in a shortened 8 litre chassis at two-thirds of the price of the 8 Litre in an attempt to compete with the Rolls-Royce 20/25. Instead, Bentley went into receivership shortly afterward, from which it was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited.
The conventional straight-6 engine used an 85 mm (3.3 in) bore and a 115 mm (4.5 in) stroke for a total displacement of 3.9 L (3,915 cc (238.9 cu in)) and a power output of 120 bhp (89 kW) at 4,000 rpm. The engine power was not suitable for the heavy chassis.