ONE of the worlds and Australia’s oldest Bentleys will turn 100 in September, coinciding with a Bentley Drivers Club of Australia trip through the region.
Currently on display at MOVE, this magnificent Blue Badge three-litre Bentley is a three-seater Cloverleaf Tourer (still original body) by Lawrence Cutter of Ballarat. It arrived in Australia in September 1922 much to the excitement of its original owner, Oswald Syme (son of David Syme, proprietor of Melbourne’s The Age newspaper).
The new body was completed in time for him to compete in the RACV 1,000-mile Alpine Trial in November 1922. A few weeks later, Oswald Syme recorded the fastest time at the Gap Hill Climb – the first competition win for Bentley in Australia.
This rare engine No. 139 four-cylinder scruffy, chassis No. 142, has been on the road most of its life; covering and estimated more than 1M kilometres (725,000 miles).
Through September, the Bentley Drivers Club of Australia will visit Northeast Victoria on a Silo Art Tour. They will visit Shepparton on days four-six, where the group will visit MOVE and the 100-year-old Bentley on display, as well as stopping past local delights such as SAM, the
Australian Botanic Gardens, the Shepparton Golf Club and more.
Don’t miss this historic marvel while it is on display and keep your eyes open September 16-18, for when the Bentleys come to Shepparton.
