ASKED what was my favourite Bentley a few weeks ago, eyebrows were raised when I replied the MkVI.

I could have replied Continental R or S3, but to me the MkVI spoke volumes of the capability of Bentley engineers in the immediate post war period.

Unveiled in 1946 it was the epitome of conservative styling. Its main claim to fame is the fact that it became not only the first new post war Bentley but the first to be offered with a standard all-steel body.

There were other special bodies on the MkVI chassis by specialist coachbuilders like Park Ward, HJ Mulliner, James Young, Graber and even Pininfarina, usually in aluminium, but the steel bodied model was most numerous and led the way for the standard Bentleys of later years.

It terms of style the MkVI, seen more often than not in plain and very shiny black, was very conservative with the big Bentley grille at the end of a long bonnet with sweeping wings, semi-spatted rear wheels and a regal interior featuring beautiful panelling and leather seats.

The manual version featured a floor-mounted gearchange on the right and the whole car spoke volumes of affluence and success.

This car was a real success and the only problem was the weakness of the inferior steel forced on Bentley by the government's tight controls after the conflict.

To all intents and purposes the MkVI was a shorter wheelbase version of the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith of 1946.

There was even a lesser known, larger booted Rolls-Royce variant, the Silver Dawn which is now a prized collectors' item. The same extended-boot modification was made to the MarkVI body in 1952 and the result became known as the R-Type Bentley.

Under the bonnet was a straight six 4,257cc engine which was enlarged to 4,566cc in 1951.

So typical of the company was the refusal to disclose a horse power value for the car but a road test of 1950 reported that top gear provided "flexibility down to 6mph" and the ability to "climb a hill of 1 in 9 maximum gradient, complicated by bends", supporting the manufacturer's contention that power, along with low speed torque, were adequate.

The chassis used leaf springs at the rear and independent coil springing at the front with a control on the steering wheel centre to adjust the hardness of the rear springing by hydraulically adjusting the rear dampers. A pedal-operated central lubrication system allowed oil to be applied to moving parts of the suspension from a central reservoir.

The factory bodies were made by Pressed Steel of Coventry and sent to the Crewe factory for painting and appointing.

Another road test quoted the factory-bodied car to have a top speed of 100mph and a 0-60mph dash in 15 seconds. A fuel consumption of 16.5 miles per imperial gallon was recorded and the test car cost a very expensive £4,473 including taxes.

Anyone expecting to buy a car of this quality these days could expect some heavy depreciation, but after the war steel shortage across Europe meant a serious shortage of new cars in the UK which meant cars hung on to their value.

A used car report in 1951 quoted a three year old example with 10,450 miles on the clock and sold for the usual £4,000 plus pricetag was offered for sale at £5,335. This was seen not only as a salute to the quality of the car but also on the continuing shortage of cars for sale.

The MkVI soldiered on to 1952 and the R-Type propelled the flying B badge until 1955.