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‘It is extraordinarily difficult to explain in words or writing the exactfascination of a big, fast car of the type so ably represented by thebig Bentley speed model.’ The Autocar on the Bentley Speed Six,September 5th, 1930.Although the 6½-Litre had been conceived as a touring car tocompete with Rolls-Royce’s New Phantom, in Speed Six form itproved admirably suited to competition: in 1929 Barnato/Birkin’sSpeed Six won the Le Mans 24 Hour Race ahead of a trio of4½-Litre Bentleys and Barnato/Kidston repeated the feat in thefollowing year’s Grand Prix d’Endurance at the Sarthe circuit aheadof similarly-mounted Clement/Watney. Small wonder then, that thefast yet refined 6½-Litre Speed Six was W O Bentley’s favourite car.Walter Owen Bentley established Bentley Motors in 1919 in theNorth London suburb of Cricklewood, though deliveries did notbegin until 1921. The first model, a 3-litre car, was powered bya four-cylinder, single overhead camshaft engine with four valvesper cylinder. It was a mechanical theme perpetuated in the greatlyrefined six-cylinder 6½-Litre model of 1926.The need for a larger car had resulted from Bentley’s customersspecifying bodies of a size not envisaged when the 3-Litre wasconceived, a factor only partially addressed by the introduction ofthe Long Standard chassis in 1923. The 6½-Litre was produced forfour years, during which time 544 chassis were completed, 182 ofthese to Speed Six specification.According to Michael Hay’s authoritative work, Bentley The VintageYears, this 6½-Litre Speed Six, registration number ‘GK 8450’, waserected on the ‘SP4’ (12’ 8½”) long chassis and originally fittedwith saloon coachwork by Gurney Nutting. It is the fifth from last ofthe 24 long-wheelbase Speed Six chassis constructed by BentleyMotors, and has the lighter and more powerful 1930-specificationengine producing 180bhp. The first owner was Sir Anthony LindsayHogg. After he parted with the Bentley early in 1932, it wasnext owned by one A H Sheppard, who kept the car for over 20years, winning a ‘best-in-class’ award at the Bentley Drivers ClubKensington Gardens Concours in 1951.1‘GK 8450’ at speed during the Brighton Speed Trials, 1965@ Ted Walker2Guy Shoosmith pushing up the hill, Prescott Hill Climb, 1966© Ted Walker12Motor Cars | 185