1935 Bentley 3½ Litre 'Cutaway Door' Drophead Coupe. B192DG

A stylish two door tourer, well-proportioned Derby Bentley which is lightweight and reminiscent of a VdP design of the day. The 'cutaway' doors, rear-mounted spare wheel, quarter bumpers, correct lamps, horns, etc, all add to the car's handsome looks. A few years ago a new cylinder head and an oil filter conversion were fitted. We feel it likely that the engine was overhauled at the same time, although we have no way of confirming this so cannot claim it to be so. The car was fully re-wired in 2016 and in 2018 the car was stripped to bare aluminium, partially dismantled body-wise, wings removed, etc and treated to a fabulously high-quality re-paint, not something that we say lightly. The standard of the paintwork is second to none, which can hopefully be seen in some of the photos, contributing of course to the smart overall appearance of the car, which extends to the very correct and clean engine bay, which presents very well. In good order mechanically too, with a nice engine, gearbox, etc, light, agile and driving well. The car represents very good value when compared either to an original-bodied example of similar style in equivalent condition, or other re-bodies currently available. . The car has  is offered serviced, prepared and MoT tested.

Snippets: The Bentley Brothers

The original retailer of B192DG was none other than H M Bentley & Partner of Hanover Court – H. M. Bentley was of course, Horace Millner Bentley the brother of Walter Owen Bentley – the Bentley brothers started their 1st business together in 1912 as “Bentley & Bentley” selling the French DFP cars (Doriot, Flandrin & Parant).  W. O. Bentley improved the performance of these cars & as a result he won several races at Brooklands setting new records for Class B in 1912 (66.78mph over 10 laps), 1913 (75.12mph) & in 1914 he achieved a flying mile of 89.7mph in a 2ltr DFP – after which the sales of the DFP cars rapidly increased. 

The first private owner of B192DG was Massey Henry Edgcumbe Lopes (1903/1992) who in 1938 upon the death of his father (Sir Henry Lopes)  inherited the title of Lord Roborough, the 2nd Baron. The Lopes family tree can be traced back to Jamaica where in the 1700s Mordecai Lopes owned a sugar plantation from which he made his fortune; in the late 1700s the Lopes family settled in London & upon Mordecai’s death in 1796 his son Mannaseh Massey Lopes inherited substantial wealth with which he purchased the estate at Maristow, Devon. Mannaseh Lopes immersed himself in local & national politics as well as land management and upon his death in 1831 his estate was in excess of 30,000 acres. As Sir Mannaseh died without a son his estate was inherited by his nephew (his sister’s son) Ralph Franco who upon his inheritance altered his name to that of Lopes. In 1925 Massey H. E. Lopes joined the Royal Scot Greys and whilst serving with them he played on the Polo team which won the Inter-Regimental cup both in 1933 & 1938. Prior to the death of his father in 1938 Massey Lopes was the aide-de-camp to G. Villiers (6th Earl of Clarendon) the Governor-General of S. Africa. When Sir Henry Lopes died  his son Massey Lopes resigned from the regiment but upon the outbreak of WWII he rejoined and was twice wounded in service. Sir Massey Lopes’ son George spoke to us about his father's car & it has become clear that B192DG was “mothballed” during this period.  George can remember that in 1952 he was sitting in the passenger seat of B192DG whilst en-route to the Coronation with his father saying “you watch the speedo & I’ll watch the road” – the speed achieved that day was a grand 82mph!! 

In the 1960s B192DG was re-bodied by Vincents of Reading into a shooting brake which did not aesthetically appeal to Sir Massey and he sold the car in the 1970s to Mr Bennett. After selling B192DG Sir Massey did not purchase another Bentley as the later models did not appeal “only two reasons to buy a Bentley – Speed & Fun” – You can’t argue with that statement.   The Coronation & Royalty link continues as in 2006 Sir Massey’s grandson Harry Lopes married Laura Parker-Bowles the daughter of Camilla & therefore step-daughter of His Majesty King Charles III. At the Coronation of King Charles two of Sir Massey’s great-grandsons Gus & his twin brother Louis acted as Pages of Honour to their grandmother Her Majesty Queen Camilla.