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Car of the Month - February 2021
Bentley 4 1/4 Litre, 1939, #B194MR
Cabriolet (4-Light Drophead Coupé)
by Walter Köng (CH)
1941, Sports Saloon, again by Walter Köng
(Switzerland)
In 1939 Walter Köng, Basel (Switzerland) erected coachwork on a Bentley 4Ľ Litre from the MR/MX-series. It has been the only chassis from the "Overdrive-series" (with a production figure of but 200 cars) that was supplied to the Swiss coachbuilder's company before the outbreak of World War II draw a final line. It was the one and only 4-Light Drophead Coupé by Carosserie Köng, too, on a pre-war Bentley chassis. It is worth to be mentioned that what as per Köng's parlance were 'Cabriolets' on Bentley chassis #B148HK and #B154LS didn’t have two sidelights each side (which 4 in all – hence 4-Light Drophead Coupé).
The customer, director of a Basel-based chemical company, within less than 2 years decided to have the original coachwork substituted by a 4-door body. He ordered again that to be made by Carrosserie Köng from Basel. Prevailing weather conditions in Switzerland had somewhat restricted the owner's enthusiasm of employing a 'cabriolet' and thus he commanded a closed weatherproof 4-door body to be mounted on his chassis. Köng duly complied by bulding a Saloon.
With its 2nd coachwork the Bentley 4 1/4 Litre did survive well
into our time. The car had been exported to Denmark during the 1950s. It
remained in the Scandinavian Kingdom and – after several changes of
ownership – is still in the custody of a collector there.
Research as regards this motor car had been no easy task because incorrect information had found its way into various publication. For example a caption in „"919 – 1969, 50 Jahre/ans VSCI . USIC", published by Verband der Schweizerischen Carrosserie-Industrie (Switzerland) provided an incorrect year of production. The illustration was described as showing a Bentley from 1938 hence this wasn’t "a top candidate" when monitoring for photos of Walter Köng's 1939 creation. Additional information rooting in in-depth research only recently provided an appropriate 'History' of #B194MR. The photos show the car with its original 1939 coachwork by Köng and with its new Salooon body from 1941, made by Carrosserie Köng, too.
