Bentley Derby 4¼ Litre Hooper Drophead

This is a 1937 Derby Bentley 4¼ Litre carrying one-off Hooper drophead coachwork, described by the coachbuilder as a "2 door All weather" and the only car built to design number 6718. The roof line is very low, ending in a letterbox-style windscreen, and the original dashboard is chrome plated, which is unusual.

The car was delivered in April 1937 and the page quotes a genuine 86,137 miles. It has had five former owners. The first returned it to Hooper after about 1,200 miles. A later owner kept it in California from 1965 to 2009, covering under 6,000 miles in 44 years. Correspondence with Bentley Motors records engine work in 1949 at 33,875 miles, including a rebore, new pistons and a replacement crankshaft. A large history file accompanies the car.

The restoration is recent. The car was repainted in two blues over bare metal with fine coachlining, and the brightwork was replated. The lamps were restored, new leather, carpet, mohair hood and headlining were fitted, and the interior wood, originally lead-skinned and chromium plated, was replaced with polished cast aluminium. The engine was fully rebuilt by Werner Mork, with a few thousand miles covered since. The car has appeared at the Villa d'Este Concours and at Masterpieces at Schloss Dyck. It is in Austria, near Villach, and is also registered in the UK.