- Desirably specified “3/4.5” Litre example

- An original Speed Model Vanden Plas Tourer

- Exceptionally well documented since new

- Very well sorted and exceptionally nice to drive

- Strikingly presented and very correct example

Chassis no. 774 was commissioned in 1924 for W.A. Mauran through C.W. Roberts, the owner of Bradley Garage in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Mauran was the son of a wealthy Tug Boat owner in New York. Mr. Mauran’s mother divorced his father and shortly after she and him both left New York for England after receiving a good financial settlement from the divorce.

Mauran went on to become a pupil at Clifton College in Bristol but unfortunately during his schooling contracted polio and was subsequently paralyzed from the waist down. Mauran was fascinated by automobiles so, accompanied by his nurse, he would visit Bradley Garage regularly. Roberts taught Mauran how to operate a lathe and allowed him to be in the company of cars. In 1922 when Mauran was 17, he bought an AC and paid Mr. Roberts 400 pounds to convert it to be driven via hand operation. Mr. Roberts was successful and Mauran was able to drive a car for the first time since being paralyzed. He went on to purchase a long chassis tourer but later traded it in for the Speed Model – chassis 774 – which was also converted to hand operation. Eventually Muran left the car with Roberts as Mauran was in poor health and went to live in Africa for the warm dry climate. Mauran had a farm in Africa and decided after some time that he would not return to England. Upon that decision he sold the car to Roberts in 1938 having covered only 17,000 miles since new.

Roberts kept the car from 1938 to 1945 until selling to Geoffery R. Amey in September. Amey reputably purchased the car with the intention of racing, however no known records indicate a racing history. The car was transferred into another owners name a few months later for unknown reasons, however, a letter in the history file alludes to reasons relating to “wartime”. The original registration book shows Amey as the owner again in 1948 so whatever the reason of transfer Amey eventually became the rightful owner again. Amey sold the car to Richard Randle Meingertzhagen for 500 pounds in 1950.

Meingertzhagen owned the car for three years and in that time managed to drive the car a great deal. He explained in a letter from 2009 to a past owner how he had the car “repainted with many coats”. He also had several modifications done including installing a “late type motor”.

In 1953 Meinertzhagen sold 774 to Michael John Day of Middlesex. Bill Roberts from Bradley Garage reportedly saw 774 again when Day purchased the vehicle. Roberts noted that the car had been driven extensively since Mauran’s use and had covered nearly 70,000 miles, even being driven regularly in the snow.

In August of 1955 Day sold 774 to Anthony Walter Heath, a longtime owner who kept the car for decades. Even after Heath’s passing in 1988, 774 remained in the family until the late 1990’s. Heath commissioned a restoration of the vehicle by Colin Crabbe of Antique Automobiles Ltd. that began in August of 1976 and commenced in August of 1977. Prior to restoration, the car was painted green, most likely one of Meingertzhagen’s “many coats”.

Upon completion the car was painted two shades of brown and remained that way through the decades. Heath put a very low number of miles on the car post restoration stating he covered “about 1,500 miles” in a valuation letter dated October 16th, 1987.

774 changed hands in the more recent years and was purchased in November of 2012. It received a 4.5L engine conversion and has since been painted black and has received cosmetic refreshing such as having the seats re-trimmed.

The Bentley is exceptionally well documented with a lovely file on hand, and is in top mechanical order. The car is really very correct and a delight to drive.