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1938 Bentley 4¼ Litre Vanvooren 'Pillarless Sedan'

1938 Bentley 4¼ Litre in Arsène Lupin, TV Series, 1971-1974 Ep. 2.09

Class: Cars, Sedan — Model origin: — Built in:

1938 Bentley 4¼ Litre Vanvooren 'Pillarless Sedan'

Vehicle used by a character or in a car chase

Comments about this vehicle

Author	Message
nzcarnerd ◊ 2022-06-25 05:29	Bentley 3 1/2 litre, maybe circa 1934-36. Possibly a Park Ward saloon body??
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2022-06-26 08:31	Or not. VdP did some pillarless bodies on the Derby Bentley chassis, but some of their individualistic styling is absent, and the front wings do not look at all right. The picture isn’t very clear, it might be a 2 door rather than a pillarless but even so, I don’t think that it is VdP. I don’t know, yet, who did it. -- Last edit: 2022-06-26 14:38:58
daimlere20 ◊ 2023-10-12 15:52	Looking at the exposed door hinge positioning, and front wing shape into front valance, I do wonder if it could be a slightly later than 1934-36 body by Vanvooren of Paris?
130rapid ◊ 2025-06-02 22:33	Twin looking vehicle: https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1303385
dsl ◊ 2025-06-03 00:35	Agree - have grabbed the picture in case it disappears as the car's been sold The only description left now is "BENTLEY ‘CONTINENTAL TRIALS’ AND 1938 ‘PARIS SALON’ BENTLEY", but that should be enough to pin it down??
humungus ◊ 2025-06-03 01:00	@dsl, the original ad with detailed history is preserved on WaybackMachine.
dsl ◊ 2025-06-03 01:19	.... found the (undated but seems 2007 or later) ad here - long interesting history, including why it's got a Buenos Aires plate. Snippets: Make BENTLEY Model 4.5 LITRE Colour SILVER Engine 4500 Chassis B6MR "The Factory Build sheet dated 25 June 1938 specifies ‘for continental trials’ and the following month the completed chassis was shipped to Vanvooren in France where it would be the first ‘M’ series chassis to be fitted with their signature advanced Pillarless Sedan coachwork to design number 7625 with body number 2936. ..... [It stayed in France and] ... The following year [1939] the Vanvooren sedan B6MR was sold by Franco Brittanic to Jacques Rodrigue Periere of 37 Avenue Victor-Emmanuel III, and in September 1941 it was sold again to Rolando J. Aguirre, the first Secretary of the Argentine Embassy of Madrid. After the War B6MR was shipped with the First Secretary back to Argentina and was in everyday use in Cordoba until 1957 when Senior Aguirre sold it to Demitrio Belada of Buenos Aires and the car passed through two further owners before being acquired and laid up as a some time restoration project by Charles ‘Chuck’ Seguin of Buenos Aires where it remained hidden away and stripped of paint for some 40 years." While it may be a Vanvooren (I've no idea, but it looks sleeker and more streamlined than the usual upright Bentleys) it's a very elastic definition of "Pillarless" so maybe some wires crossed in the description. Similar text ad - says 4¼ Litre and a bit less garbled but without pics here. Some pre-WW2 photos here (scroll down to the end). Nothing found for where it is now and in what state.
dsl ◊ 2025-06-03 01:22	humungus wrote @dsl, the original ad with detailed history ... Thanks - I found another similar. Seems from yours that the ad was 2022.
dsl ◊ 2025-06-03 03:34	After some chin-scratching I'm beginning to wonder if this is actually not B6MR, as its timeline suggests it was still in Argentina during early 70s film date. Which would mean it's one of the other Vanvoorens listed at the end of this thread. Pursuing further is beyond my pay grade.
humungus ◊ 2025-06-03 16:59	^ It's probably not, but no one suggested it was. 130rapid merely said the car in the ad was 'twin-looking' and they do look very much alike. And "It is the first of just 6 overdrive Vanvooren pillarless saloons, only three are known to have survived worldwide." does suggest B6MR has/had siblings, one of which may well be the subject car.
dsl ◊ 2025-06-18 18:07	dsl wrote .... it's a very elastic definition of "Pillarless" ..... I now understand what this means in this case - it has pillars, but they are fixed to the doors so that when both doors are open, there is no central B-pillar.
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2025-06-19 13:26	https://infparts.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?start=20&t=28640 You may recognise a name in this information. If you keep scrolling down you will find a picture of a very shabby Van Vooren pillarless saloon with the doors cracked open, showing better what happens. -- Last edit: 2025-06-19 13:34:20
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2025-06-19 13:28	Where Van Vooren were going:-
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2025-06-19 13:41	Or, there’s this, but while very pillarless, I don’t think it’s very Van Vooren! (It’s HJM) Link to "www.classic.com" -- Last edit: 2025-06-19 13:56:31
daimlere20 ◊ 2025-06-22 15:17	Re-visiting this, unless altered at some point in its life, this is not B6MR. The car shown clearly has front and rear 1/4 light/ventilation windows. #B6MR wasn't built with those features.
dsl ◊ 2025-06-22 15:23	daimlere20 wrote ... this is not B6MR .... Tend to agree now.
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2025-06-22 17:03	RIP David “Syd” Lawrence, the first British born black cricketer to be selected for England, aged 61.
dsl ◊ 2025-06-22 17:15	I remember radio report when his career was effectively ended by injury - he was a big bloke with a thundering run up to bowl, and as he was in the middle of the fateful run up, his knee cap shattered, apparently with a loud crack heard right around the ground.
johnfromstaffs ◊ 2025-06-22 17:22	Yes, but he was laid to rest by motor neurone disease. There has just been a very moving tribute to him by Phil Tufnell, obviously upset by the loss of his friend.

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