Bentley Mark VI Price Guide

The Bentley Mark VI was the car that rebuilt the marque after the war. It was the first Bentley with a standard steel body and the first to be manufactured primarily at Crewe rather than Derby. It established the formula of post-war Bentley luxury: hand-finished interior, effortless power delivery, and the ability to carry four people in absolute comfort at speeds that embarrassed sports cars.

The Car

Produced from 1946 to 1952, the Mark VI used a new 4,257cc inlet-over-exhaust six-cylinder initially, enlarged to 4,566cc from 1951. The standard steel saloon body by Pressed Steel was a Bentley first, the previous models had relied on independent coachbuilders. Around 5,200 standard steel bodies were built, alongside several hundred coachbuilt alternatives from Mulliner, Park Ward, and James Young. The inlet-over-exhaust engine design was a technical compromise imposed by post-war materials shortages but proved durable and refined in service.

Buying

The standard steel saloon is the most accessible Mark VI; elegant, well-supported, and a genuine piece of post-war British engineering. Coachbuilt variants command premiums proportional to the coachbuilder’s prestige. The R Type that followed in 1952 used the same basic structure with a larger boot and the 4,566cc engine from the outset. Bentley supports the Mark VI through its heritage division.