1946 Bentley Mark VI Park Ward Drophead Coupe Project

This 1946 Bentley Mark VI is a right-hand-drive drophead coupe with aluminum bodywork by Park Ward. Chassis B10AK served as a development prototype for the coachbuilder, and it is noted to have been dispatched on August 1, 1947, to its first owner in Switzerland as the first Park Ward-bodied Mk VI delivered to a retail customer. After changing hands twice in continental Europe, the car passed through a series of stewards in the UK. In the late 1960s, it was brought to the US by an individual in Minnesota who retained possession until the current owner’s purchase in 2006. By that time, refurbishment work had been initiated, although the interior upholstery and trim were incomplete. The car has not been driven in several decades, and the 4.25-liter inline-six is linked to a four-speed manual transmission. This Mark VI rolling project is now offered by the seller on behalf of the owner at no reserve in Illinois with historical records, spare parts, and a Florida title in the owner’s name. The Mark VI was the first postwar Bentley and shared its underpinnings with the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. Park Ward fabricated the majority of this car’s drophead coupe bodywork using aluminum panels over wood framing. Hallmarks of the design included cowl-mounted semaphores, rear-hinged doors, and rounded rear fenders with integrated taillights.