Bentleys have always been valuable vehicles. For some reason, people who earn enough money fall in love with Bentleys, and owning one is something special.
Well, even within the car maker’s incredible line of beautifully designed vehicles, there are a few that stand above the rest. This is a story about the 1936 Bentley that just sold for half a million pounds.
A little more
They found the vehicle in a garage in Heaton Mersey, which is in the Greater Manchester area. It was in that garage for three decades collecting dust. Charles Blackman owned the vehicle. This person was an RAF pilot who clearly loved thrills and probably had a lot of fun with the Bentley.
Cheshire-based H & H Classics auctioned off the vehicle. The auction started a £200,000, which isn’t bad, but the folks who auctioned it off didn’t think it was going to go up that high.
When the auction ended, the vehicle went up to half a million dollars. Of course, this makes sense. This is one of six of these vehicles. The carmaker only made six of this model, so it’s easy to see why it’s valued so highly.
After 30 years of sitting in garage, the vehicle didn’t age well. The body was green, but the color faded over the years. The black trim had several visible scratches. The roof was in bad shape as it was folded. There were a lot of issues inside, too. The steering wheel rusted, and the dashboard was breaking apart. The leather didn’t survive those 30 years. There were tears all over the place.
The vehicle was originally owned by Col. Guy Bedford. Blackman purchased the vehicle from the original owner. By the time Blackman purchased it, the vehicle needed some repairs, and he did do some repairs but not many.
Blackman was a serviceman; he was a part of the 550 Squadron. He, along with many other brave servicemen, was part of the “Kehlsteinhaus” raid in 1945. This was an incredibly important moment during the war against Nazi Germany.
That bit of history allowed the Bentley to sell for a high price. Knowing that one of the owners was a decorated serviceman who took part in the fight against one of the worst evils this world has known helped elevate the price of the Bentley.
One reason for owning such an incredible vehicle is you get to own its history. The owner gets to talk about Blackman and his exploits in the war whenever this person is showing off the Bentley. The carmaker is celebrating its 100th year in a few short months. Knowing that one of their vehicles sold for that amount probably makes Bentley makers proud of their work.
Everyone at that auction knew the condition of the vehicle. It’s bad, but the bones are still in good condition. It seems that bringing this vehicle up to standard is going to take some time. The lucky owner is going to have to invest a six-figure sum to make the Bentley shine the way it’s supposed to shine. The work is probably going to take more than a year because it has to be done quite delicately. This kind of attention is needed to make sure the job is done carefully. This will help maintain the resale value of the vehicle if the new owner ever wants to sell it.
Still, by the time everything is done, the vehicle is going to look amazing. The owner is going to have this beautiful vehicle along with the beautiful stories of these two owners that he’ll be able to talk about.
