A very early production Derby Bentley with beautiful coachwork by Park Ward. Exceptional history, beginning with British industrialist Sir Frederic Charles Stewart. Lovingly maintained older restoration performed by a marque specialist.
This marvelous Bentley 3 ½ Litre bears chassis number B93AE, clothed in Park Ward’s handsome four-passenger Drophead Coupe coachwork. It presents in very good condition, with a lovely older restoration that has mellowed gracefully with time and care. B93AE is a very early Derby Bentley, believed to be the 43rd chassis built under Rolls-Royce ownership. The first owner was Sir Frederick Charles Stewart, who took delivery on March 24, 1934. F.C. Stewart served as the managing director for John Brown & Company, one of the largest and most illustrious shipbuilders in the world.
At the time of Stewart’s leadership, John Brown & Company received a commission from Cunard to build two of the largest, fastest ocean liners in the world. After the onset of the Great Depression Cunard merged with rivals White Star Lines, and after a worrisome pause, construction of Hull Numbers 534 and 552 resumed. These two ships would later become Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, respectively: Two of the most prestigious and prominent ocean liners of the twentieth century. The Queen Mary held the coveted Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing from 1938 to 1952, with only one break in that record.
