Bentley sold only the drivable bare rolling chassis with engine and gearbox, scuttle and radiator, ready for coachbuilders to construct on it a body to the buyer's requirements.

The cars retained the famous curved radiator shape based on earlier Bentley models, but in all meaningful respects they were clearly Rolls-Royces.

At a time when the Ford 8 could be purchased new for £100, an early Bentley 3½ Litre cost around £1,500 (equivalent to £8,967 vs. £134,510 today)[1], putting it beyond the reach of all but the wealthiest consumers.

The Bentley variant had a higher compression ratio, sportier camshaft profile and two SU carburettors on a crossflow cylinder head.

A 4-speed manual transmission with synchromesh on 3rd and 4th, 4-wheel leaf spring suspension, and 4-wheel servo-assisted mechanical brakes were all common with other Rolls-Royce models.

The chassis was manufactured from nickel steel, with a "double-dropped" layout to gain vertical space for the axles and thus keep the profiles of the cars low.

1,177 3½ Litre cars were built, about half of them bodied by Park Ward, and the remainder by coachbuilders including Barker, Carlton, Freestone & Webb, Gurney Nutting, Hooper, Mann Egerton, Mulliner (both Arthur and H J), Rippon Bros, Thrupp & Maberly, James Young, Vanden Plas and Windovers in England; Figoni et Falaschi, Kellner, Saoutchik and Vanvooren in Paris; and smaller concerns elsewhere in UK and Europe.

[4] Motorsport announced in March 1939 that the fixed head coupé designed by Paulin and built by Portout to the special order of André Embiricos is the prototype of a new Continental model in the Bentley range.