David Lillywhite
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The link WORDS DAVID LILLYWHITE PHOTOGRAPHY SAM CHICK Even today’s Bentleys owe their styling to a couple of 1930s one-offs: the famous Embiricos and this, the Corniche, which has been completed in-house by the factory’s Mulliner division BENTLEY CORNICHE BENTLEY HAS A secret; it’s been ‘By mid-1940 the car had a significant but largely forgotten part of the marque’s history since been largely destroyed the late 1930s, never deliberately hidden but never actively publicised since things went disastrously through a series wrong 80 years ago. This is the Corniche, truly the of misfortunes’ missing link between vintage Bentleys of yore and the R Type Continental of the 1950s, which inspired the Continental GTs of today. Work on the prototype started in early 1939, but by mid-1940 the car had been largely destroyed through a series of misfortunes that you really couldn’t have made up. Enough parts from the Corniche programme survived to inspire its resurrection, though. And it just so happened that the very first test drive of the recreated Corniche that you see here took place on July 10, 2019 – the 100th birthday of the Bentley marque. We’ll return to this in a moment; you need the back story first... The Corniche was born in a time when any Bentley sold in the UK absolutely had to be of the ‘English’ style – that is, with an upright radiator and huge headlights – despite that style seriously limiting top speed. Meanwhile, there were a few crafty chaps who were less reverential, producing distinctly untraditional streamlined bodies. Dash them all! The most successful of these was the rakish 4¼ built for André Embiricos by the French Carrosserie Pourtout, to a design by Georges Paulin. The Embiricos Bentley had been encouraged by renegade engineers at the marque keen to show the capabilities of their cars. It gained a creeping admiration from the more daring Bentley managers, nudged on by customer demand for faster, more sporting variants. 60 / MAGNETO BMAGNETO / 59 BENTLEY CORNICHE However, it was uncomfortable the Experimental Department on Vanvooren for repairs, and quickly ‘A few invaluable drawings by Bentley standards, and was June 7. Testing started within collected again on August 8 by based on a defunct model. days, and at Brooklands on June 26 experienced test driver Percy Bentley, having been rescued by the Corniche achieved creditable Rose. Then, on the way back and technical specifications Rolls-Royce and moved to that 109mph and 111mph times on to Chateauroux, disaster struck! marque’s Derby factory in 1931, the flying mile. With the roads wet from a recent was set to introduce its new It was then returned to France rainfall, a local driver pulled out were sourced, and the few ‘rationalised range’ MkV saloon for high-speed testing from the in front of the Corniche. Rose in late 1939. A proposal was made company’s depot at Chateauroux, swerved to miss the car, went off pictures existing of the car to also produce a lighter, more from where it was driven hard on the road, hit a tree and rolled over. powerful version of the MkV, to French autoroutes and Italian Body and chassis were badly be named the Corniche. Paulin autostradas. Initial faults logged damaged, although Rose got away were forensically examined’ was contracted to design a rakish, included poor water sealing with minor injuries (and a aerodynamic body, while the around the doors, inadequate subsequent telling-off for driving Bentley Experimental Department cabin ventilation and a tendency too fast); a telegram was quickly commissioned a thinner-gauge for the engine to run hot – though sent to Derby to advise that the (0.092in instead of 0.128in) MkV not overheat – at high speed. car’s testing was over for the chassis and higher-power engine. But in July, while being driven foreseeable future. By May 1939 Paulin’s design on the road by engineer Ivan Back at the factory, it had been had been completed by French Waller, the one-off Corniche was planned that the Corniche would coachbuilder Vanvooren, and was clipped by a bus. feature at the imminent Earls shipped to England, arriving at It was returned immediately to Court and Paris motor shows, MAGNETO / 61 BENTLEY CORNICHE alongside a standard-bodied MkV. And that was the Corniche ‘Many of the A replacement chassis was quickly gone. Within two years, the great ordered, and the Corniche’s body talent of Georges Paulin was lost, removed from the damaged too, when he was executed along necessary chassis to be repaired locally in with master coachbuilder Jacques Chateauroux rather than wait for Kellner for working with the Vanvooren. The chassis was French resistance. The war also coachbuilding transported back to Derby, spelt the end of the MkV Bentley, arriving at the factory on August with just 14 completed. skills were 16, where it was to be stripped and rebuilt onto its replacement. Eighty years on, and 100 years But on September 3, war was since WO Bentley formed the already a declared. Within a day all car company, the Corniche is back, production at Bentley had ceased, using a mix of original and re- major part and any works in progress moved made components. That it exists into storage. At the Chateauroux again at all is thanks to remarkable body shop, repair work continued work by the Rolls-Royce Heritage of Mulliner’ slowly, and it wasn’t until March Trust, coachbuilder Ashley & 1940 that the body was completed James, and the staff across all and shipped to Dieppe, where departments of Bentley Motors, cross-channel ferries were still particularly the Mulliner division. operating despite the war. And, of course, the project started Except, when the repaired body with a chance conversation, as arrived at Dieppe, the RAC official these things so often do. responsible for export duties Former Bentley director, now insisted that as the Corniche had automotive historian, Ken Lea passed through customs the takes up the story: “Sir Ralph previous year, then the repaired Robins [then Rolls-Royce CEO] body constituted a second car, had a Derby Bentley that he raced, and must be taxed as such. and which I helped look after. In Bentley refused to pay, rightly 2001 he had a blown engine; he pointing out that only the chassis found a replacement but phoned had been shipped in 1939. In a me to say it didn’t fit. I said: ABOVE The style Captain Mainwaring-like reply, ‘What’s the engine number?’ and of the cabin was the RAC claimed that: “Our men realised it wasn’t a standard 4¼ worked up with the cannot have missed that there [Derby Bentley], it was a MkV unit. Bentley design team. Most of the interior was no body, so there was!” While “That got us talking about the parts, right down to the dispute rumbled on, the body Corniche, and he was the one who the custom-cast door was stored in a warehouse at persuaded the Rolls-Royce board handles, are unique the Dieppe docks. that we should build a running to the Corniche, and The story gets worse. At some chassis. I knew of a private all the wood trim was created in- point during the evacuation of individual with a lightweight house from scratch. Dunkirk, in late May or early June chassis – it had been standing for 1940, the Corniche was destroyed years in tall grass so one side was in a bombing raid. A memo to badly corroded.” Bentley management from an There were three lightweight RAC official asked where the keys chassis made. One was the for the car should be sent. The Corniche chassis damaged in the reply was apparently “robust”… crash in France, and another was 60 / MAGNETO MAGNETO / 63 BENTLEY CORNICHE its intended replacement. Bentley halfway through, the work Experimental Department chassis continued whenever possible over ‘We’ll use never received serial numbers, so the following eight years. there’s little way to know which “I cannot over emphasise the one it is – but Ken is convinced contributions Ashley & James it as an that this was the original Corniche made to this project,” says Ken. chassis. It appeared to have been Back in February 2018, Adrian stripped and used for testing, Hallmark joined Bentley as important before being sold off by Rolls- CEO, the successor to Wolfgang Royce in 1971, as were so many Dürheimer. He’d returned to piece of our spares at the time, including many Bentley after 13 years, and within MkV and Corniche parts that had days of arrival quizzed Robin Peel been made ready for production. on projects that his Heritage history; So the project was off the department was involved with. ground, based at the Rolls-Royce “Adrian made it clear that the it will travel Heritage Trust in Derby. A few Corniche was to come to Crewe,” invaluable drawings and technical remembers Robin. “He saw the specifications of the Corniche significance of the car and what the world’ were sourced by the Sir Henry Bentley involvement would add to Royce Memorial Foundation and it.” But where would the Corniche the Paulin family, and the few be housed? A meeting was held pictures existing of the car were between departments, with one of forensically examined. the attendees being Glyn Davies, An engine was rebuilt to the special projects leader of the Corniche specification, with high- Mulliner bespoke division. compression pistons and larger “I had no idea what this car carburettors and inlet manifold, was,” says Glyn, “but it sounded and the chassis was slowly built right up Mulliner’s street, so I up, as rare MkV and Corniche stuck my hand up and said ‘we’ll spares were further sourced.