The oldest Bentley production car in existence has been sold in a Gooding & Co auction at Pebble Beach.
90 Years ago Noel Van Raalte become the first customer of a fledgling new company called Bentley when he took delivery of chassis number 3, having paid £1,150 for the privilege. That same 3-litre engine car has just been sold in Pebble Beach for nearly a million dollars, with the final price (including a 10% buyer's fee from the auction house Gooding and Co) coming in at an astonishing $962,500.
The chassis number 3 car is an unique 'matching-numbers' car with original aluminium coachwork and brass brightwork, which showcases the marque's signature craftsmanship and engineering skill, implemented within the company by their founder, W.O. Bentley.
The 3-litre engine proved itself and began to build the fame of Bentley by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans Endurance race in both 1924 and again in 1927, which was the first of an historic run of five victories in eight years for Bentley. This sporting heritage, which first established the company's reputation and in which the 3-litre was instrumental, is still at the heart of the iconic British brand.
Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive Wolfgang Dürheimer said that "Pebble Beach is the ideal venue to showcase Bentleys old and new. On the same day that Gooding & Co. auctioned the world's oldest surviving production Bentley, we hosted a private preview of a brand new model. During Monterey week, the enthusiasm for the evolution of the automobile is palpable."
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