Started by Walter Owen Bentley and Henry in 1919, Bentley Motors took their first Le Mans 24 Hours victory in 1924. The main reasons for this success were WO Bentley’s determination and natural technical ability. He had worked as an apprentice with the Great Northern Railway and had designed airplane engines before he started his own company. When the company went bankrupt in 1931, 3033 cars were produced and five Le Mans victories were achieved.
The various engines produced were technically very similar to the 3-liter four-cylinder engine of 1919. Characteristic were the revolutionary aluminum pistons and an overhead camshaft operating 4 valves per cylinder. These characteristics, together with dry sump lubrication, were well ahead of time, and it would take decades before many other companies caught up. The cylinder block and head were in one piece to prevent gasket leaks votes. The extremely long stroke provided the slow running engine with plenty of torque.
was announced in 1925 a new six-cylinder engine model. It just 6.6 liters, and was with all the features, which fitted the 3-liter engine special. More good news came in 1925 as additional millionaire Captain Woolf Barnato poured money into the company. On the track in 1925 and 1926 were disaster years, the two cars ran out of fuel and one caught fire in 1925 and motor disease and a late crash took the 3 cars entered in 1926 out of the race. In 1927, a single surviving 3-liter Bentley took the victory after the leading ram fell out of the race, an hour before the end of the race.
The work was started on a special high-performance version of the 6-cylinder car, to ensure Bentley’s racing future. Introduced in 1928 it was the Bentley 6 1 / 2 liter Speed Model or Speed Six synchronized. Meanwhile, a group of young racers Works was formed, with Woolf Barnato as the charismatic leader. Today they are called the best known group works drivers and are commonly as the “Bentley Boys”. The first success for the Bentley-Boys came in 1928, when the Barnato / Rubin driven Bentley 4 1 / 2 liter took a difficult victory at Le Mans.
Bentley’s glory years at Le Mans were 1929 and 1930, with the Speed Six dominated both races. Barnato was the winning driver in both years with Tim Birkin and Glen Kidston in each case as co-pilot. In competition specification the Speed Six engine was good for 200 hp at 3500 rpm rpm. was together with rock solid reliability of these more than enough to ward off the competition. Financial problems prevented Bentley from competing in the 24-hour race in 1931 and after Rolls Royce purchased the remains of the company, the racing program was scrapped.
More than 20% of the Bentleys built before the 1931 sell-out were bodied by Vanden Plas. Most popular of these was the Le Mans type model that is very similar to the Vanden Plas bodied Le Mans racer passed. The organizers of the fact that the cars resembled entered regular road tourer.
Featured is a 1927 built 3-liter Speed Model Vanden Plas with a stylish and built four-seater “Tourer” body. The Speed model was the road going replica of the Le Mans racer and is easily accessible by “Red Label” badging recognizable and has a lightweight chassis. It is seen here at the 2004 “The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering.
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