If there is one car that embodies the spirit of British motoring achievement from the ‘Roaring Twenties’ it has to be the Bentley 4½ Litre. Establishing its reputation at the arduous Le Mans 24 hour endurance race, it has become a motoring icon and recognized the world over. A good 4½ is a great all-rounder and will serve faithfully as Tourer, Sportscar, Racing car, Rally car and will also always draw a crowd in your local pub car park. 658 were built on the 10 foot and 10-inch chassis between 1927 and 1931. With four valves per cylinder and an overhead cam shaft it was one of the fastest and finest cars on the road.
At that time the price of a new car was about £ 1,400 which is remarkable when you consider that it was about 7 times the average house price of £ 200.

UL 1248 was originally delivered in January 1929 to Dr. Thomas Cotton who lived at Bryanston Court in Mayfair, a short walk from the Jack Barclay showrooms from where he bought it. It was supplied with a high quality H.J. Mulliner Saloon body. The service record shows that the car remained in London until the late thirties and was being maintained by C T Hayes of Paddington. By 1937 the car appears in the hands of H.M. Bentley, brother of W.O. and dealer in high quality used cars.

There is an old style ‘buff log book’ in the history file that shows it had passed into the ownership of Maurice Freedman of 59 Amersham Hill, High Wycombe in 1947. He sold it in 1950 to Bessie Hales of Henley on Thames. The next change of ownership was in 1960 to Robert Hales of nearby Bledlow Ridge. He must surely have been some relation. The next owner also lived in Bledlow Ridge, a Mr. Richard Smith but the log book is unstamped so the date of this transfer is as yet unclear.

At some point the Mulliner Saloon coachwork had fallen into dis-repair and there is a photo showing UL 1248 fitted with an open sports body utilising the original Mulliner wings. At a later date this was replaced by an open sports traditionally constructed Vanden Plas style Tourer body.

By the mid 1990’s the UL 1248 was in the hands of VSCC member, David Dunne of Dublin and he campaigned the car on a number of events including the Measham Night Rally. The car remained in Ireland but by 1999 had passed into the care of irrepressible enthusiast, Shane Houlihan who used the car for the ‘Round Ireland” rally.

The next owner was Mr. Eric Kavanagh, a keen vintage rally competitor and well-known BDC member, bought the car in 2003 and in his twenty years of ownership maintained the car to a high standard. In 2016 Ewen Getley’s highly regarded “Kingsbury Racing” workshops overhauled the brakes, fitted new wheels and tyres and carried out a complete service. In 2017 they were commissioned to do a complete engine rebuild. The original crankshaft was crack tested, balanced and polished. New con rods were fitted with white metal to the big ends and main bearings. New pistons, valves, springs, rocker shafts, cross shafts and bevel gears were also fitted along with a new water pump. In fact everything to create a fast reliable engine.

In 2022 further works were undertaken including a magneto and carburettor overhaul and a new set of Blockley tyres. When Mr. Kavanagh made the decision to sell the car, it was driven from its home in Ireland to London which considering its reliability should come as no surprise.

The next owner bought UL 1248 in 2023. He was impressed by the mechanical integrity and condition but wanted more accurate and correct coachwork to Vanden Plas Le Mans specification. Kingsbury Racing were commissioned to do the job. Ewen and his skilled team worked on the car for over twelve months. The invoicing for parts alone came to over £ 140,000 and the labour to over £ 110,000. Ewen had secured a set of drawings for one of the Bentley Team cars when he was building the body for his own Supercharged 4½ Litre car and used the same for UL 1248. The look of the car is perfect. This is matched by the materials and techniques used. The correct body fabric has been applied and then painted, the leather is a heavy grade with the waxy finish that looks and feels just right and all the instruments on the dash panel are originals. The fuel tank alone is a work of some significance and other Le Mans details include double Hartford shock absorbers all round, twin Bosch horns and a fish-tail exhaust. Naturally the car is sitting on the big 21 inch wheels shod with new Blockley rubber. A lot of care and attention has gone into getting the details right, and it shows.

Rather than having the car delivered on the back of a lorry I travelled up to Bicester to drive it into London. The engine starts readily and runs well without noise or smoke. The car itself performs as it should and runs cool, with good oil pressure and a turbine smooth engine. The steering is light (for a Bentley!) and precise, the clutch is smooth and progressive, the brakes have servo assist and work well. The gearbox is undemanding and a new owner will quickly make friends with it. It’s an easy car to get on with, something you can’t say about every Bentley, and great fun to drive.

Importantly, the mechanical integrity of the car is very good and all of the numbered parts are present and correct including (starting from the front) front chassis knuckle, front axle, chassis cross member, bonnet sides, steering box, engine crankcase, gear box, master switch plate, and the rear axle. Twin bronze Sloper carburettors are fitted and even these are consecutively numbered and the numbers matched onto the inlet manifold.

A significant history file accompanies the car that includes details of all the previous owners, an old buff log book, numerous later V5 registration documents, correspondence, bills and photographs. There is also a copy of the original service record from Bentley Motors that covers its early years and a short report by world famous marque specialist Clare Hay who concludes, “This is a very nice, correct chassis, pretty much as it left Bentleys”.