Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1934 Bentley 3½ Litre James Young Drophead Coupé
No Reserve
Registration No: AXW 2
Chassis No: B86AH
MOT: Exempt
On offer at No Reserve from a deceased estate
Ordered at the 1933 Earls Court Motor Show and delivered to Dr I. W Magill in May 1934
One of 36 bodied with James Young Drophead Coupé Coachwork
In the ownership of only two owners from new, with the current family of the deceased estate having custodianship since 1974
Offered with one of the most extensive history files we have had the pleasure of handling, complete with three box files of history, including invoices for restoration in the 1970s and 1990s, buff logbook, correspondence with the original owner and chassis cards
At the dawn of the 1930s with the reverberations of 'Black Friday' (29/ 10/ 1929) being felt worldwide, competition between carmakers grew increasingly desperate. Thus, while WO Bentley sought to refine his 8 litre into the ultimate luxury carriage, Rolls-Royce responded by dabbling with a sports car concept. Their concerns as to the branding of 'Peregrine' (as the project was labelled internally) were alleviated by Bentley's collapse in 1931. Outflanking rivals D. Napier & Son, they acquired Bentley wholesale (including WO's services) for £125, 257. With a department brief that "the new car must be as unlike the Rolls-Royce models as possible" Derby engineers set about preparing 'Peregrine' for flight. Built on a 'double-dropped' chassis carrying all round semi-elliptic leaf sprung suspension and assisted drum brakes, the new car used a tuned version of the Rolls-Royce 20/ 25's 3669cc OHV straight-six. Boasting twin SU carburettors, a wilder camshaft, strengthened con-rods and a higher compression ratio, this revamped unit developed around 120bhp (a fifty percent improvement) without compromising on refinement. Equipped with the 20/ 25's four-speed manual gearbox, high-geared worm and nut steering and hydraulic dampers, the resultant 'Silent Sportscar' - as the Bentley 3. 5 litre soon became known - was unveiled to great acclaim at the August 1933 Ascot Races.
Ordered at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1933 through Pass and Joyce Ltd, chassis B86AH was the second of 36 Derby Bentleys to be bodied by James Young in Drophead Coupé form. The chassis card records on file suggests that the chassis was despatched to James Young on the 6th April 1934, and the completed car would be first registered as ‘AXW 2’ on the 17th May 1934 to Dr Ivan Magill initially of 11 Wimpole Street. Magill was an Irish-born anaesthetist who would become recognised as one of the founding fathers of anaesthesia and would also become known for inventing the Magill forceps which are still regularly used in surgery today – he would be knighted Sir Ivan Magill by Queen Elizabeth II in 1960.
The buff logbook on file suggests that Magill kept the car for over thirty years, with his latest vehicle excise duty entry in 1967. A handwritten letter dated 1971 from Dr Magill to the late second owner, Brigadier Blackburn, advises that he had covered some 180, 000 miles in his ownership and had originally paid £1650 for the completed car when new. Later, when the Bentley became mechanically tired, he sold it for just £150, after attempting to revive the engine which was notably thirsty on oil at this point. It appears that the car would be sat unloved from the end of Magill’s ownership until the late Brigadier Blackburn purchased it in 1971 and was in quite a state when it was taken on. It was decided at this point that a full restoration would be undertaken and the Bentley would be entrusted to family member Nick Harley in Winkleigh to perform it. Just three years later, ‘AXW 2’ emerged transformed.
Brigadier Blackburn was to use the car extensively for the rest of his life, and his daughter and the vendor for the sale recalls that he took his family and the car to Germany and Singapore for his many postings as a military officer. The car would constantly be maintained by various specialists, and there is an utterly exhaustive stack of invoices from various specialists for works including body repairs, trimming repairs internally and externally and of course mechanical maintenance. It is noted that the Bentley would also be MOT’d every year, proving that the Brigadier kept the car constantly ready for action. The latest invoices on file are from specialists Richard Parsons and A&D Engineering in 2019 for works to the clutch and transmission and for an overhaul of the engine in 2008.
Tragically, Brigadier Blackburn passed away in 2023 after a long-term health condition and his daughter (and regular car and boat adventure partner) inherited the Drophead Bentley from his estate. The vendor has tried as best as possible to keep the Bentley running and has prepared the car for sale by getting it running after a blocked fuel line to the solid-state fuel pump caused non-starting. Upon H&H’s inspection, we noted that the Bentley is in overall solid condition and when recently driven for the photoshoot it fired into life with relative ease, but we do advise a full mechanical check over due to the car having been sat briefly. Thanks to the obvious love that the late long-term owner had for B86AH, it has developed a delightful patina that can only be accumulated through using the car – and the history file indicating various days out to Bentley Drivers’ Club events at home and abroad attests to its condition. Prospective owners may wish to improve the car’s cosmetic appearance if they have the taste for concours displays, however, they may also be perfectly happy with its very usable ‘driver’ condition. Now, excitingly offered to the market for the first time in over fifty years, ‘AXW 2’ is to be sold without reserve.
