The Bentley Mark VI was the first postwar Bentley of Rolls-Royce design. The car was powered by a new six-cylinder F-Head engine (overhead intake, side-mounted exhaust valves). It was also the first Bentley with standard, factory-designed bodywork (built by Pressed Steel Company), reflecting a change in Rolls-Royce policy from strictly hand-built to "standardized" bodies that could be produced in greater numbers at the firm's new factory at Crewe. Like prewar Bentleys, The Mark VI was large, stately, and impressive. It rode a massive seperate chassis featuring coil-spring independent front suspension. Most Mark VI cars built were four-door sedans with semi-traditional lines including seperate front fenders. However, a number were built with custom sedan and convertable (drophead) coachwork by such specialists as H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward, and James Young. From 1949, the Bentley Mark VI was equivalent to the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, but with more performance.
There were 4946 Bentley Mark VI produced.
