1927 BENTLEY
6.5 Litre Le Mans Coupe by Harrison
Reg - YF 2186
Chassis - BX2411
Engine - BX2410
1927 BENTLEY
6.5 Litre Le Mans Coupe by Harrison
Reg - YF 2186
Chassis - BX2411
Engine - BX2410
What is a Bentley Le Mans Coupe?
The Le Mans replica tourer is a well-established and widely recognised format. A significant number of Bentley 6½ and 8 Litre chassis have, over the years, been fitted with Le Mans-style tourer bodywork and the associated visual details. That was precisely how YF 2186 was configured when I acquired it in 2019.
Following a three-year restoration centred on an original two-door Harrison coupe body, and incorporating selected Le Mans design elements, I began describing YF 2186 as a ‘Bentley Le Mans Coupe’. The description emerged naturally in response to questions about the Le Mans fuel tank, the fully instrumented dashboard and the dramatic wing treatment. It proved apt, and it endured. For this bespoke two-door coupe, the name makes complete sense.
There is a persistent assumption that tourers are glamorous, fast and desirable, while saloons are formal and conservative. YF 2186 challenges that cliché directly. It demonstrates that a coupe can be equally stylish, equally powerful and equally capable. The engineering, proportions and intent are unmistakably sporting.
That is what defines YF 2186 as the Bentley Le Mans coupe.
This website exists to document that journey in full: the car’s origins, its various transformations, and the vision that guided its restoration into the car presented here today. YF 2186 is not simply another Vintage Bentley. It is a car that has evolved, been reimagined and executed with conviction, and one that refuses to conform to expectation.
Not just any Vintage Bentley
YF 2186 is one of a kind
YF 2186 is a magnificent Bentley 6.5 Litre, born in 1927 as a Harrison bodied saloon. Over the past century, it has lived an extraordinary life, carrying with it a story as rich and rare as the car itself.Today, it wears a unique, and original 2-door Le Mans Coupe Harrison body. You will simply never encounter another Bentley like it.
Harrison & Sons were long-established British coachbuilders, founded in 1883 and recorded as motor body makers as early as 1906 . During the 1920s they bodied a significant number of high-quality chassis, including more than 200 Bentleys, before the firm ceased trading in 1931.
Harrison developed a reputation for well-proportioned enclosed saloons and limousines. Contrary to the modern perception that most Vintage Bentleys were open tourers, many left Cricklewood fitted with substantial closed coachwork by firms, reflecting the preferences of owners who wanted refinement alongside performance.
Harrison bodies of the late 1920s and early 1930s typically displayed balanced rooflines, carefully modelled wings and a dignified presence suited to the 6½ Litre chassis. Although the company’s life was comparatively short, its contribution to the visual identity of early Bentleys was considerable, and surviving Harrison-bodied cars remain an important part of the marque’s coachbuilt heritage.
Between 2019 and 2021, YF 2186 underwent a painstaking three-year restoration. Every effort was devoted to ensuring it emerged as a bespoke creation: fast, supremely comfortable, and unique. No detail was overlooked, with original parts and relentless craftsmanship bringing it back to life.
The journey of this car, from its origins in 1927 to the sleek, powerful two-door coupé you see today is fascinating. A restoration never to be repeated, and one worthy of celebration.
Early History
Leaving the Bentley works in 1927, chassis BX 2411 was first registered as YF 2186, proudly carrying a Greater London registration, indeed the very same it wears today. Originally fitted with a Landaulette body by Offord & Sons and R. Harrison, the car was delivered new to Mrs. Henry Bull on February 1st, 1927.
For the next 12 years, until the outbreak of the Second World War brought factory service records to an end, Mrs. Bull drove her Bentley extensively, amassing more than 81,000 miles. This was no garage ornament, it was a car that was used, enjoyed, and cared for.
During this time, YF 2186 received the attention only a true driver’s car demands: its gearbox was overhauled by the factory, pistons and conrods replaced, brakes renewed, and the clutch adjusted, all evidence of a machine that was both driven and diligently maintained.
From the very beginning, this Bentley lived a life of purpose and passion. Every owner since has continued that legacy, ensuring the car was always kept alive through enthusiastic driving, maintenance, and a number of painstaking restorations.
The photograph here shows its most likely Harrison Landaulette form, alongside the surviving factory records from 1927–1939. But of course, the real question is: how did YF 2186 transform into the unique, sleek two-door Le Mans coupé you see today?
That is an 98-year story of reinvention and survival. And it begins here…
YF 2186 - Ownership timeline
Almost 100 years has passed since YF 2186 left the factory. It is remarkable that during this time it has had so few custodians. Due to the fact that most of the owners were members of the Bentley Drivers Club a continuous ownership history has been recorded.
Mrs Henry Bull
The first owner, who resided at Queen Anne Mansions, Westminster SWI
Bodied as a Landaulette by Harrison
As reported by Clare Hay in 2018 as part of her report on the car 'There is the usual gap in the records for the 2nd World War years'. We like to think that Mrs Bull carried on enjoying the car until 1947!
Lieutenant Colonel JRG Cowan,
Who was stationed in Plateau Province, Nigeria, West Africa
Mr D. Lamant Smith, Arthur T Lindsey & L Parsons
Over a short period of time the car changed hand between these three individuals based in South Africa.
Mr Stephen T R Hemsted
Londiani, Kenya
Re-bodied with a Coupe by unknown Coachbuilder
Mr Thomas J Leonard
Entebbe, Uganda and Drumree
Shortly around this time the car
came under the control of the Ugandan Government untill 1969
Mr David T Gaul
South Africa and latterly England
By now the car was in pieces and towards the end of this period David Gaul restored the car.
In 1989 he re-bodied YF2186 with a Park Ward Saloon body from LB 2348
In 1991 he had the car re-bodied again by Stanley Mann as a Le Mans Replica
Mr Casper Schaarrighuisen
South Africa
Mr Gilbert S Goodchild
East Sussex, England
Mr Casper Schaarighuisen
South Africa (again)
Mr Craig A Davis
USA
Mr Anthony Thompson
Devon, England
In 2019 Anthony embarked on what became the Le Mans Coupe project. Restoring YF2186 with the Harrison body you see today.
Restoration Partners
The dedicated professionals driving the project
David Ayre Cars
David Ayre was in charge of the project and had the original vision. David is an engineer like no other. I have never met anyone else quite like him. He made the project happen, despite my constant nagging and interfering with the details. We stretched each others patience - But he finished the car and was the ultimate professional. I don't think anyone else could have delivered YF2186.
R.C. Moss - Vintage Bentleys
Graham Moss was another cornerstone of the project. He supplied countless essential parts, brought the car’s interior back to life, finished the roof and trunk in Rexine, and assembled the stunning tool set. Graham's massive experience of Big Bentley Projects and his considered approach to everything we did gave me so much confidence.
Robert Dean Ashframing
Robert Dean was responsible for restoring the ash frame of our Harrison body and completing the 'missing' rear where the boat tail once sat. Robert welcomed me into his workshop and we dismantled the original body together. I learnt a lot from Robert, including which jazz radio stations to listen to when fiddling with cars.
The Old Coachworks
Sean Watson and Gary Fowler restored the panel work and carried out the amazing black paintwork that completed the restoration of YF2186. They also painted so many of the components that you just don't see. Sean did this with the same care and attention to detail as the rest of the body. He was also amazingly patient when I kept asking for 'yet another black paint sample'.
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