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Bentley 3.5 Litre Sport Saloon Park Ward - a quiet sports car

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Created on September 27, 2023

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

33

Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club

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Archiv

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Daniel Reinhard

33

Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club

1

Archiv

7

Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the front doors open to the rear

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - it is comfortable at country road speed

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - of course it cannot be driven "effortlessly" by today's standards

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the bumpers are missing on this example

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - as a driver you have a really long hood in front of you

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - compared to the competition, the car could be driven without much effort

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - was intended for self-drivers not chauffeurs

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the driver sits behind the center of the car

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - with free-standing headlights and fenders

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - classic pre-war contours

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - there is only room for passengers in the rear half of the car

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - classic pre-war saloon silhouette

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - cost over ten times as much as other cars of the time

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - with sunroof

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - huge steering wheel, which is also quite necessary

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - lots of wood and leather inside

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - View of the elegantly appointed interior

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - bucket seats for those sitting in the front

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - magnificent space in the rear

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the coachbuilder

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the engine originally came from the Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP, but was made more powerful

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the Bentley "B" as a radiator mascot

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - winged "B"

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the classic "B" as a radiator mascot

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - with everything that belongs to a real classic car

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - three adjustable balancing weights per spoke wheel

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Bentley 3.5 liter Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - the tank is at the very back, the access is in the trunk

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Bentley 3.5 liter Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - a small flap on the left also provides access to the fuel filler neck

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - ... Just don't spill anything ...

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Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP (1930) - with Park Ward bodywork

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Four Door Saloon (1934) - once owned by record-breaking driver Sir Malcolm Campbell

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Bentley 3.5 Liter Sports Touring (1935) - Convertible

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Van Vooren DHC (1935) - A magnificent vehicle in a stylish two-tone livery

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Bentley 3.5 Litre (1935) - with open tourer body

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Bentley 4 1/4 Litre (1936) - with Van Vooren bodywork

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Bentley 4 1/4 Litre (1937) - with convertible bodywork

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Bentley Mark VI (1947) - successor to the Mark V

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - ready to go

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - almost half of the car "belongs" to the engine

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - an elegant limousine

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Bentley 3.5 Litre Park Ward Sports Saloon (1935) - around 150 km/h were possible back then

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Summary

It was called the "Silent Sportscar" because the first Derby-Bentley 3.5 Litre had inherited much of the smooth running of its brother Rolls-Royce 20/25 HP, but was nevertheless surprisingly different from it. A significant proportion of the more than 1100 cars produced are said to have survived, and this driving report takes the pulse of an example from 1935 and shows it in many pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

A new beginning
The somewhat different construction kit
Trimmed for sportiness
More engine capacity from 1936
Quiet and effortless to drive?

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Until the 1930s, Bentley cars were known as advanced and rather sporty automobiles. But W. O. Bentley was a better designer than a businessman and so he had to sell his over-indebted company to Rolls-Royce in 1931. When a new Bentley appeared in 1933, it was to be feared that little of the Bentley sportiness remained. But the new car was much more than a Rolls-Royce with a Bentley radiator. In 1930, Bentley had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for the fifth time, but just one year later the debts became so high that it was no longer possible to continue. W. O. Bentley negotiated with a group of racing drivers and with Napier for a takeover, but in the end it was Rolls-Royce who took over Bentley for £125,256 with the aim of getting rid of a competitor.

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