Bentley 8 Litre Price Guide

The Bentley 8 Litre was W.O. Bentley’s masterpiece and his final grand gesture. A car of enormous power, devastating performance, and ruinous expense that arrived just as the company was collapsing into insolvency. It was the finest car Bentley ever built and the one that killed the company.

The Car

Launched in 1930, the 8 Litre used a 7,983cc straight-six producing around 220bhp, enough to propel even the heaviest coachwork to 100mph. Two wheelbase options (12ft and 13ft) were offered and attracted the grandest coachwork of the era from Mulliner, Corsica, and Gurney Nutting. Just 100 were built between 1930 and 1932. The 8 Litre was intended to compete directly with the Rolls-Royce Phantom II, and by most accounts it was the superior car; faster, better handling, and with a more characterful engine.

Buying

The 8 Litre is the rarest and most valuable of W.O. Bentley’s production cars. With 100 built, survivors are precious. The 4 litre was hastily introduced alongside the 8 Litre in a doomed attempt to generate cash flow at a lower price point, but neither car could save the company from receivership in 1931.