1949 | Bentley Mark VI

We have only previously owned one other Mallalieu, which was in the 1990's with Jack Barclay Ltd

She came in part exchange, and whilst normally we would never have offered a Special for sale, a Mallalieu was known as a Bentley special of some importance - Victor, Jack's son, immediately gave his approval when she arrived with us

She was proudly displayed in the side window - the premier position in the Berkeley Square showrooms

This version, again the prettier Mercia model version (latterly called the Oxford, when the bodies were built in house, whilst the other with 4 seats was called the Barchetta) as was the version at JB's, is just a pippin - although that was the later Oxford model

Derry Mallalieu, a Bugatti enthusiast, owner and driver of renown engineered the Mercia to the highest degree in the early 1970's

Formed in aluminium (the early versions were bodied by Wilkinson Ltd for him) the Mercia was of great style and panche, always looking good from every angle too

He took a MK VI completely stripped down the car, and used this for the basis of his own cars

He underslung the chassis, moved the engine back to give lower centre of gravity and better weight distribution

Using the finest materials the finished products were sold at an equivalent price to a new Bentley of the time..........

This pretty Mallalieu is number 007 (quite a nice number for Bond fans), so one of the very early versions

She has been kept in California for at least the last 20 years in the hands of one enthusiastic owner who has kept her in almost mint condition, as can been seen in the photographs

Obviously the Californian climate has helped too

The fascia veneers have suffered from the sunshine a little - patinated could be more readily applied as a term for her ageing

On the road she simply purrs - feeling more nimble than Bentley's of any other period

Smooth gear changes, heaps of torque from the 4.25 litre straight 6 engine and a deep bellow from the single exit exhaust at the rear

She has power steering which eases parking and amazingly electric seat operation which is a rather nice touch too

So more akin to an Italian sports car or an XK120, with much more leg room than anything else we can think of

There is a great tonneau cover in matching cloth and also a full hood and side screens, which fit niftily behind the seats when not needed (covered by a leather curtain so not to be seen - there is also room for personal paraphernalia too)

We love this little lady and will be very sad to see her go - in fact so in love with her are we that we have recently had the fascia completely removed and re-veneered to as new condition, given her an annual service and most importantly fitted a set of original P100 Lucas headlamps

We think she looks amazing !!!!