Book Description

The Bentley MkVI, introduced in 1946, fairly bristled with new ideas and marked a bold change of direction for a company as conservative as Rolls-Royce, owner of the Bentley marque. The most radical departure from pre-war practice was the fact that the MkVI could be bought with a standard body. Other major new features were the engine, cruciform chassis and hydraulically operated front brakes. However, none of this indicates the true historical importance of the MkVI or why the model is at the heart of this book-quite simply the MkVI’s design was the well-spring from which all the mainstream Rolls-Royce and Bentley models flowed until the advent of the Silver Shadow and Bentley T-Series in 1965. Here is the complete story of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, Silver Dawn and Silver Cloud and the Bentley MkVI, R-Type and S-Type. Covering concept, design and development, production, promotion, publicity and the coachbuilt cars. There is also helpful practical advice on buying and running these cars today, together with appendices of chassis number sequences and dates, build numbers and modifications and development by chassis number. Illustrated with over 160 black and white and color photos, this book is a must have for anyone interested in automotive history.