Fast Facts

An unusually well documented vintage car, sold with its original logbook from 1952 as well as a folder containing approximately 60 pages of receipts, documentation and working drawings

Fitted with a lightweight aluminium body that the seller stresses is free of corrosion

The owner just completed an 8,000 km run in this vehicle, supporting its strong mechanicals and comfortable use on modern roads, with a service completed in November 2025

The Detail

This 1952 Bentley Mark VI special is presented in lovely condition, still retaining its original chassis and engine but benefitting from a modified lightweight aluminium body and strong mechanicals that have carried it through an active life with its current custodian.

The Bentley Mark VI is a four-door steel bodied sports saloon and was the first luxury car to come out of Bentley, owned by Rolls-Royce at the time, after World War II. Just over 5,000 are believed to have been built between 1946 and 1952.

As you’d expect, this Mark VI began its life in England, eventually finding its way to an engineer who exported it to New Zealand, where the conversion you see it presented in today began. It then went to Melbourne to another engineer, who removed the original four-door saloon body and had a new aluminium roadster body built for the car. The car was complied in April 1983.

The new body was finished in green paintwork, which the seller notes remains in good condition outside of some stone chips and paintwork marks on the mudguards. There is a fully fitted all weather tonneau cover for the front and back seats.

Looking inside you’ll find a black interior with matching green carpets and seats and belts for four people. The cabin shows some wear and tear that, in a 74-year old vintage Bentley such as this, should be described as a pleasant patina commensurate with its age. The seller notes no known faults with controls, switches or electronics.

The Mark VI was initially equipped with a 4 ¼-litre straight-six engine, with later cars, like this one, receiving an updated 4 ½-litre unit known colloquially as the big bore engine, which also benefited from a Vokes full flow oil filter and in this car’s case twin SU carburation. This is paired with a four-speed manual transmission, with synchromesh, shifting for which sits by the driver’s right hand with the handbrake on the outside of the driver’s side door.

The Bentley was kindly provided a free club service in November 2025 at 35,500 miles by the Nimbin Bentley car club. Work included the brakes, a clutch adjustment, carburetors, suspension, radiator and piston compression, with no major issues flagged.

The current owner was happy to share stories of a recent 8,000 kilometer trip across the country and back in the car, noting that with the lightweight body it will happily do 85 miles per hour. They note that the gearbox is very smooth and car is easy to drive. The Mark VI was also a proud winner of the NSW Bentley concours award in December 2025.

This Bentley will be sold with a collection of documentation accumulating approximately 60 pages of receipts and working drawings, as well as its original logbook from 1952.

Recently serviced, well sorted and benefitting from a proven roadster conversion that in 2026 would be both immensely time consuming and expensive, this 1952 Bentley Mark VI Special represents a wonderful opportunity to step into the varied and lively world of vintage motoring in a highly evocative and well documented chariot.

Descriptions and information are supplied by the seller or owner of the vehicle and are believed to be accurate and not misleading to the best of their knowledge. Prospective buyers are required to satisfy themselves as to the accuracy of the description, and independent verification is strongly recommended.

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The Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) for this vehicle has been verified against the Australian Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), at the time of listing the vehicle, and no security interest or other encumbrance is recorded against the serial number. Furthermore, this vehicle has been checked via the Austroads National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS), and there are no markers present within the written-off or stolen vehicle databases.

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