Bentley 8 Litre Classic Cars for Sale

The Bentley 8 litre was a super luxury car built in 1930 and the last completely new model to be produced by Bentley before their financial collapse into receivership forced the company's sale to Rolls Royce in November of 1931.

The History of the Bentley 8 litre

Bentley had always had a reputation for the production of luxury class cars, but by the time of the production of the Bentley 8 litre they had found themselves in serious financial difficulties, which were eventually to lead to receivership. The Bentley 8 litre was designed by W.O. Bentley to be the most luxurious tourer, and the largest and finest Bentley, ever made but the Wall Street Crash and the consequent Depression meant that only a 100 Bentley 8 litres were ever produced.

The Bentley 8 litre: a Truly Exclusive Car

The first ever Bentley 8 litre produced was bought by 'Gentleman’ Jack Buchanan, then a very famous music hall star, in October 1930. The second car went to W.O. Bentley himself though tragically the financial collapse of the company meant he could not keep his masterpiece and it had to be sold in 1932. At a cost which would be equivalent to a modern £300,000 , and produced just the year before the Great Depression, the Bentley 8 litre was unsurprisingly a car for only the very wealthiest of car connoisseurs.

The Bentley 8 litre: Class Combined With Raw Power

As well as the creation of a super-luxury tourer the production of the Bentley 8 litre saw innovations in the power of the engine. With an 8 litre capacity it was the largest engine then on sale in the UK, and had an exceptional power output of around 200-230bhp . Bentley guaranteed that the 8 litre would reach 100mph whichever chassis option was chosen, and sold it as the "dead silent 100mph car".

The End of the Bentley 8 litre.

When Rolls Royce bought out Bentley they discontinued production of the Bentley 8 litre- a decision which must have seemed inevitable given the global economic circumstances. All spare parts were disposed of and the 100 Bentley 8 litres produced pre-1932 became rarities. In recognition of its iconic place in their history, in 2006 Bentley Motors bought the original second model which had been W.O. Bentley's personal car for such a short time before disaster befell the company, as the CEO’s ‘company car’.