The Bentley 8 Litre was a large inline 6-cylinder super-luxury car made in various configurations by Bentley Motors Limited at Cricklewood, London. Announced 15 September 1930, it was also the last completely new model by Bentley before the company's financial collapse and forced sale to Rolls-Royce Limited. A Bentley 4 Litre featuring a 4-Litre Inline-6 engine in a shortened chassis was announced on 15 May 1931. Introduced a year into the Great Depression. the 8-litre and its smaller 4-litre sibling were unable to turn the company's finances around. Less than nine months after the 8-litre's introduction, Bentley Motors was placed into receivership. Design and specifications Engine The straight-six engine used a one-piece iron block and non-detachable cylinder head with a crankcase made from Elektron, a magnesium alloy. It featured an overhead camshaft driven by a Bentley patented "three-throw drive" system of triple connecting rods with, like all earlier Bentleys, four valves per cylinder and twin-spark ignition (coil and magneto), which were state-of-the-art at the time. The engine had a bore of and a stroke of , giving a capacity of . Pistons were of an aluminium alloy. Both engine and gearbox were mounted each at three points on rubber to isolate the chassis and body from vibration. Transmission An entirely new design of four-speed gearbox provided four speeds (constant mesh third) and reverse with a single-plate dry clutch which sent power through a hypoid bevel final drive to the rear axle and its 21" Rudge-Whitworth wire centre-lock wheels. Chassis The 8 Litre was built on Bentley's largest rolling chassis, a ladder frame with large tubular steel cross-members downswept from the front and rear axles towards the centre to lower the centre of gravity. Neither engine nor gearbox contributed to the bracing of the chassis. Suspension by long semi-elliptic leaf springs was controlled by double acting dampers, friction on the front and hydraulic on the rear axle, and all four wheels were fitted with Dewandre vacuum-servo-assisted drum brakes, the forward brakes being of Bentley-Perrott design. Steering was by worm and sector and castor action could be adjusted to suit individual taste. There was centralised chassis lubrication including the gaitered springs but not for the front axle or the clutch withdrawal system. The 8-Litre chassis was available with either a wheelbase or a longer wheelbase. Three were built with a wheelbase. The manufacturer claimed a maximum speed of approximately . A speed