Bentley Le Mans Special, 1931
Bentley R Type
Bentley R Type•
•26 views
Chassis No.: B84FV
Auction: Monterey 2013
Auction date: August 17, 2013
Lot No.: S142
$175,000 | High bid
- Bentley Mark VI chassis and suspension
- All aluminum body modeled after the famous Birkin Blower car that raced Le Mans
- Rolls Royce/Bentley eight cylinder engine
- Multiple carburetors
- 4-speed transmission
- Great sounding car
- Titled as a 1931 Bentley
While naturally aspirated Bentleys dominated endurance racing in the early 20th century and W. O. Bentley himself rejected supercharging as a perversion of his creations, the so-called “Blower Bentleys” are the best known to date in the popular automotive culture despite never having won a major race. In fact the Blower Bentley was the brainchild of “Bentley Boy” Henry “Tim” Birkin, who was well-known for his never-ending quest for more power in his racers.
Against W.O.’s express wishes, Birkin and his fellow Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato set up shop in Welwyn in 1929 to begin producing supercharged Bentleys, the first of which used crankshaft-driven blowers built by famed English engineer Charles Amherst Villiers. When Birkin was granted permission by Barnato – a multiple Le Mans winner and, not coincidentally, a part owner of Bentley – to enter a team in the French classic, albeit in a different class than the factory 6.6 L cars so as not to compete directly with W.O.
The effort ended badly; both of Birkin’s cars suffered blown engines, and W.O. was irate to learn that the cars’ appearance then obligated him to build another 50 supercharged cars for homologation. Designed to race at Le Mans, the most famous Blower Bentley, the Birkin Monoposto, actually scored the first win for a Blower Bentley on the Brooklands race track in 1930 and held the Brooklands speed record at 137.96 MPH from 1931 to 1934. That historic racer is recreated in the superb machine offered here, which is built on a Mark IV chassis and suspension and uses a multiple-carbureted Rolls Royce/Bentley eight cylinder engine in concert with a 4-speed transmission.
The distinctive aluminum bodywork duplicates the Birkin Monoposto design as raced by Birkin at Brooklands. Titled as a 1931 Bentley, this unique Le Mans Special beautifully evokes the spirit of the Bentley Boys era.
https://www.mecum.com/lots/161565/1931-bentley-le-mans-special/
