Bentley 4 Litre

The Bentley 4 Litre was a motor car built on rolling chassis made by Bentley Motors Limited in 1931.^[4] The 4-litre chassis was conceived and built in a failed attempt to restore Bentley to a good financial state. Announced 15 May 1931,^[6] it used a modified four litre Ricardo IOE engine in a shortened 8 Litre chassis at two-thirds of the price of the 8 Litre in an attempt to compete with the Rolls-Royce 20/25.^[1][7] Instead, Bentley went into receivership shortly afterward, from which it was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited.

Bentley 4 Litre
Brooklands Motor Museum, Weybridge, Surrey
Overview
Manufacturer	Bentley Motors Limited
Production	1931[1] 50 produced[1][2][3]
Assembly	Cricklewood, London
Designer	Walter Owen Bentley Harry Ricardo
Body and chassis
Class	Luxury car
Body style	As arranged with coachbuilder by customer[4]
Layout	Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Powertrain
Engine	3.9 L Ricardo IOE I6
Dimensions
Wheelbase	134 in (3,400 mm) 140 in (3,600 mm) [1][5]
Chronology
Predecessor	Bentley Speed Six
Successor	Bentley 3.5 Litre

The conventional straight-6 engine used an 85 mm (3.3 in) bore and a 115 mm (4.5 in) stroke for a total displacement of 3.9 L (3,900 cc; 240 cu in)^[5][8] and a power output of 120 bhp (89 kW) at 4,000 rpm.^[1][5][8] The engine power was not suitable for the heavy chassis.^[1][2][8]

References

1. "Lot 244: Bentley 4-Litre/8-Litre Le Mans-style Tourer". Motorbase. Hastings, UK: Classic Vehicles. Retrieved 8 April 2012. A double-drop chassis was adopted, closely based on that of the contemporary Bentley 8-Litre, and offered in two wheelbase lengths: 11' 2" and 11' 8", both of which were shorter than the shortest of the two 8-Litre chassis available.
2. Feast, Richard (2004). "Chapter 3: Vintage Years". The DNA of Bentley. St. Paul MN USA: MotorBooks International. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-7603-1946-8. Retrieved 26 March 2012. ...only 50 4-litres were completed before Bentley Motors was acquired by Rolls-Royce.
3. Culshaw & Horrobin 2013, p. 82.
4. "History By Chassis – List of all W. O. Bentleys with original chassis nos. 4 Litre". VintageBentleys.org. Houston, TX USA. Archived from the original on 13 April 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
5. Culshaw, David; Horrobin, Peter (2013) [1974]. "Bentley". The Complete Catalogue of British Cars 1895 - 1975 (e-book ed.). Poundbury, Dorchester, UK: Veloce Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-845845-83-4.
6. "A New Bentley". The Times. No. 45823. London. 15 May 1931. p. 13.
7. Feast 2004, p. 52.
8. "HISTORY OF MARQUES: BENTLEY - British". Sportscars.TV. 1964. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2012. There was nothing to compalin about in the engine design, but unfortunately the very heavy 8-litre chassis was used and this resulted in a rather dull and slow car.