1931 Bentley 8 Litre Convertible Victoria by Murphy

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 2025

Bentley’s 8 Litre car is a legend. It was the final new model introduced by the marque before they went belly up and got absorbed by Rolls-Royce. It rode on a large ladder frame and was powered by an 8.0-liter straight-six connected to a freshly designed four-speed manual transmission. These cars are on par with Duesenbergs, big Cadillacs, the supercharged Mercedes of the 1930s, etc.

Between 1930 and 1932, just 100 left the factory. They are prized today. Two wheelbases were offered, with this being on the shorter side. It is the only 8-Litre model that was exported to the U.S. to be bodied by an American coachbuilder. And to that task went the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California.

It was purchased new by an heir to a sugar fortune. It was discovered in Mexico in 1948 and made its way back to the U.S. by 1971. Restored for the first time later that decade, the car would be restored again in 2012 before taking a prize at Pebble Beach. The car has an estimate of $2,750,000-$3,250,000. More info can be found here.

1931 Bentley 8 Litre Pointed-Tail Two-Seater

Offered by Gooding & Company | Online | January 28-February 5, 2021

Photo – Gooding & Company

The 8-Litre was the best (and final) model produced by Bentley before being taken over by Rolls-Royce. Just 100 examples were produced between 1930 and 1932, and only 78 are known to still exist. And this is one of them.

It was originally fitted with a Weymann close-coupled saloon body, but that was removed and replaced in the early 1960s. The chassis was shortened at this time, and coachbuilders Hoffman & Burton were enlisted to build a sporting body. They came up with this striking pointed-tail two-seater.

Aside from the rarity, the powerplant is the big story here. As the model’s name suggests, the inline-six displaces eight liters and produced 220 horsepower. This one appears to have known history since new and carries an estimate of $550,000-$825,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Co.

Update: Sold $861,215.