Bentley does not build many cars like the Bentley Mark V: a Chassis provided, customer to select own coachbuilder and body style with 4¼ L (4,257 cc) I6, built from 1939 to 1941 when streamlining and independent suspension were arriving together.
How it came about
The Bentley Mark V was Rolls-Royce's second Bentley model. Intended for announcement at the Earl's Court Motor Show set down for late October 1939 it had much in common with its predecessor. War was declared on 3 September 1939 and a few days later Bentley announced it had ceased production of civilian items. The Mark V was sold only as a bare chassis to be fitted with a body from an owner's own choice of coachbuilder. It proved to be the last Derby Bentley; after the war production moved to Crewe.
The hardware
Under the skin sits 4¼ L (4,257 cc) I6. The gearbox is a 4-speed manual. 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 10'4" 124 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
Where it sits in Bentley's history is not in doubt: the Bentley 4¼ Litre came before it; the Bentley Mark VI followed it; it was built at Derby, England (chassis only), United Kingdom. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Lincoln Continental, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Pontiac Torpedo. Its Bentley stablemates include the Armoured Arnage and the Bentley 3 Litre.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Bentley Mark V — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.