A British explorer filming an abandoned barn found a rare 1928 Bentley 4.5 Litre Sports Tourer, one of 148 four-seat Vanden Plas examples; it could be worth seven figures, but its identity remains unverified

A British urban explorer filming an abandoned building has discovered a rare 1928 Bentley 4.5 Litre Sports Tourer hidden under decades of dust and debris inside an unused barn. The car was found by Colin Smith, who makes videos for his YouTube channel, The Bearded Explorer. While exploring the building, Smith came across the vintage vehicle with its original Vanden Plas bodywork still intact. The discovery has attracted attention from classic car fans and historic vehicle collectors around the world. The find is especially important because of the car’s rarity. Bentley built around 720 examples of the 4.5 Litre model between 1927 and 1931. Of these, the historic coachbuilding company Vanden Plas fitted bodies to just 204 cars. Only 148 were built as open four-seat tourers, matching the design of the car found in the barn.

Rarity and factory specifications

More than 50 Vanden Plas four-seat tourers left the Bentley factory in 1928 alone. This places the newly discovered car within the first years of production of the 4.5 Litre range. Under its long bonnet, the standard touring model had a naturally aspirated 4.4-litre inline-four engine. It used two carburettors and produced 110 horsepower when new. The model helped establish Bentley as a major name in sports car manufacturing during the late 1920s. According to a technical analysis published by automotive publication Motor1, pre-war Bentleys rarely keep their original bodywork after spending long periods in storage. Old barns can be particularly damaging to these vehicles. Their wooden frames and thin steel body panels are often affected by rot, rust, or serious structural damage over time. An early check of vehicle registration records suggested that the sports car originally left the factory with black paint. However, automotive historians have not yet confirmed whether its current paint is original or whether an earlier owner had it repainted.

Valuation and authentication requirements

The value of surviving pre-war Bentleys can vary greatly. Important factors include the car’s ownership history, whether its original numbered parts still match, and the condition of its bodywork. “This barn find is the naturally aspirated flavor, which still means seven figures is realistic once it’s authenticated and restored, just not Blower money,” Smith stated in comments published alongside the discovery. He was comparing the car with Bentley’s much more valuable and rare supercharged “Blower” models. Historical auction records reported by Motor1 show how widely prices can vary for 4.5 Litre Bentleys with Vanden Plas bodies. At Broad Arrow’s Villa d’Este auction in May 2026, a 1928 example sold for a price in the mid-$400,000 range, according to public auction records. By comparison, an authentic 1928 tourer with matching original numbers and a complete record of ownership sold for $1,105,000 (£850,000) at an RM Sotheby’s auction in Monterey in 2021. The highest price among these examples was reached in 2013. Gooding & Company sold an original-bodied 4.5 Litre Semi-Le Mans Tourer with a documented racing history for $2,750,000 at its Amelia Island auction.

Next steps for the historic sports car

Before the newly discovered Bentley can be sold publicly or undergo a full restoration, experts and brand specialists must carry out detailed checks to confirm its identity and history. Classic car experts explain that wealthy collectors care about paperwork just as much as the physical condition of a vehicle. They need to establish a clear ownership history and confirm that the original identification numbers on the chassis, engine, and gearbox match. Until specialists complete a full inspection of the chassis numbers and historical records, the 1928 Sports Tourer remains one of the most interesting unverified barn finds discovered in the United Kingdom in recent years.