Registration No: MGO 628
Chassis No: B297FU
MOT: Exempt

• Elegant four-door Sports Saloon by Freestone & Webb
• Has formed a part of a private collection since 2014
• Offered with a quantity of paperwork including continuation log book and Jack Barclay car specification sheet
• Finished in Black over Silver with Blue-piped Grey leather upholstery

Bodied as an elegant four-door Sports Saloon by Freestone & Webb, chassis B297FU began life in London (or so its `MGO 628' number plate would imply). According to a copy of the Chassis Specification Works Instruction held on file it was dispatched on 4 February 1950 with the customer recorded as ‘RR Stock’ and first registered on 28^th of April that year. Not much is known of its early history, although a 1988 dated letter in the history file from Jack Barclay Ltd to a previous owner advises they first sold the car in 1955 at 36,000 miles, again in 1956 at 45,000 miles, once again in 1958 at 60,000 miles and finally in 1962 at 69,000 miles. At the time, the owner noted the 1988 mileage as being c.90,000. A Green continuation RF60 log book records further Sussex-based owners in the mid-1960s and by the 1980s correspondence shows the car was owned by a Mr Rinsey Mills of Bideford, Devon. By 2004 the car was residing in Alvaston, Derby and a number of invoices are present in the history file covering this period. In 2014 ‘MGO 628’ was acquired by the vendor from our Spring auction held at Duxford and has formed a part of his private collection ever since.

Finished in Black over Silver with Blue-piped Grey leather upholstery, the car comes with a quantity of paperwork including various correspondence, invoices dating back to 1988, assorted expired MOT certificates from 2007 onwards, RF60 continuation logbook, Jack Barclay car specification sheet, workshop copy manual covering general information, rear axle, cooling and fuel systems, electrical system, steering, gearbox, prop shaft, brakes & front suspension, together with an original handbook.

Introduced in 1946, the MkVI was Bentley's first post-war model. Aimed at the emerging 'owner-driver' luxury car market, the newcomer was closely based on the 1939 MkV (of which only fifteen were produced). Built around a massive cruciform-braced chassis with independent front suspension and a leaf-sprung 'live' rear axle, it was fitted with a freshly developed 4257cc OISE (overhead inlet side exhaust valve) straight-six engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox. Capable of over 100mph when clad in the factory's understated 'standard steel saloon' coachwork, the MkVI quickly developed a reputation for being a refined yet responsive drive. However, despite the excellence of the 'basic' car, there remained a core of marque enthusiasts who found its styling too anonymous and more attractive coachbuilt examples in both Saloon, Coupe and Drophead Coupe form were specified from such notable names such as HJ Mulliner, Vanden Plas, Park Ward, Freestone & Webb etc.

Freestone & Webb, who were chosen to clothe the sports saloon offered today, had been founded in 1923 by V E Freestone & A J Webb. From premises in Willesden, North London they crafted some notable designs on Bentley and Rolls-Royce chassis amongst numerous other marques and pioneered both ‘Top Hat’ and ‘Razor Edge’ styling before Mr Webb’s death in 1955 saw a gradual demise of the company and its acquisition by the Swain Group. It was subsequently sold on to Harold Radford in 1963 but the days of the artisan coachbuilder were already drawing to a close.

For more information, please contact:
John Markey
john.markey@handh.co.uk
07943 584767