Bentley produced the beautiful 6 ½ Litre model for four years, during which time 362 units managed to roll out of the factory. Out of all these, a mere 20 had a short 11-foot wheelbase, and Chassis WK 2658 as one of them. This rare beauty spent many years in Australia, where it changed hands a couple of times before being modified to please one of the owners’ wives’ particular design preferences.
That proved to be only the beginning of a rather complicated story of upgrades and alterations, which eventually led to the vintage design that you can see here today. In 1940, the 1927 Bentley 6 ½ Litre ‘Bob-Tail’ was purchased by Jack Jeffery, who wanted to make some additional changes to his new sporting car, but didn’t quite know which direction to take with the customization.
After removing the body and taking the chassis apart, he did a series of upgrades to the engine, exhaust system and drivetrain. He then acquired a set of photographs from Bentley, showing the famous Forrest Lycett 8 Liter from different angles, because he wanted to use these as inspiration for his new project. The war, however, made the materials difficult to obtain, and Jeffery ended up giving the car to George Pearse in exchange for a speedboat.
Interestingly enough, though, after the car had received a new coachwork, the owner decided to sell it back to Jeffery. The reason? People started calling it ‘Pearse’s Folly’ because of its unusually large size, as compared to the Midget racer cars of the time. It was only then that Jack Jeffery finally finished the project, bringing the rare Bentley to its current form. Still impeccable looking today, the car is estimated to be worth between $680,000 and $900,000.
