Bentley does not build many cars like the Bentley 4 Litre: a As arranged with coachbuilder by customer with 3.9 , built from 1931 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together. Its designer of record is Walter Owen Bentley / Harry Ricardo.
Where it came from
The Bentley 4 Litre was a motor car built on rolling chassis made by Bentley Motors Limited in 1931. The 4-litre chassis was conceived and built in a failed attempt to restore Bentley to a good financial state. Announced 15 May 1931, it used a modified 4-litre Ricardo IOE engine in a shortened 8 Litre chassis at two-thirds of the price of the 8 Litre in an attempt to compete with the Rolls-Royce 20/25.
Instead, Bentley went into receivership shortly afterward, from which it was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited. The conventional straight-6 engine used an 85 mm (3.3 in) bore and a 115 mm (4.5 in) stroke for a total displacement of 3.9 L (3,900 cc; 240 cu in) and a power output of 120 bhp (89 kW) at 4,000 rpm. The engine power was not suitable for the heavy chassis.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 3.9 . Kerb weight is 1981 kg. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 134 in / 140 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Bentley's history is not in doubt: the Bentley Speed Six came before it; the Bentley 3.5 Litre followed it; it was built at Cricklewood, United Kingdom. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Chevrolet Suburban, the Bugatti Type 57, the Maserati 8C. Nearby in the Bentley catalogue sit the Armoured Arnage and the Bentley 3 Litre.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Bentley 4 Litre has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.