One-Off

1939 Bentley MKV Corniche George Paulin Pourtout by Mulliner CoachbuildingThe Corniche was inspired by a sporting Bentley privately commissioned by Greek racer André Embiricos. In July 9, 1939, it was struck by a bus while testing in France. The car was returned to Carrosserie Vanvooren for repairs and improvements. The Corniche was retrieved by a test driver on August 8 of the same year. As the driver neared the Bentley depot at Chateauroux to resume testing, another driver pulled in front of the Corniche, causing the driver to run off the road and hit a tree, rolling the car and causing extensive damage. When the body repairs were completed, it was sent to the port of Dieppe to be shipped to Crewe to be reunited with its chassis. Unfortunately, an administrative error at the docks caused a delay, and the body was destroyed when Dieppe was heavily bombed during the early stages of WWII. The re-creation project started several years ago in Derby by volunteers from the W.O. Bentley Memorial Foundation and the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation but ran out of funding in 2008. Bentley graciously stepped in with financial assistance, and work started on the ash frame and aluminum bodywork with coachbuilders Ashley & James in Lymington, Hampshire. The body was created from outline drawings given to the project by the family of the car's original designer, George Paulin. The public appearance of the recreation occurs at Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace in September 2019.Original 1939 Corniche was lost in a wartime bombing raid in France. The Corniche's re-creation was Mulliner's first genuine ground-up historic-car project.