Three-quarters front view of a Green, 1930 Bentley Le Mans, Racing Car, at the 2017 Silverstone Classic
The Bentley 4½ Litre was a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors.[1] Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to litres (270 cubic inches). A racing variant was known as the Blower Bentley. Bentley buyers used their cars for personal transport and arranged for their new chassis to be fitted with various body styles, mostly saloons or tourers.[1] However, the publicity brought by their competition programme was invaluable for marketing Bentley's cars.[citation needed] At the time, noted car manufacturers such as Bugatti and Lorraine-Dietrich focused on designing cars to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a popular automotive endurance course established only a few years earlier. A victory in this competition quickly elevated any car maker's reputation. A total of 720 4½ Litre cars were produced between 1927 and 1931, including 55 cars with a supercharged engine popularly known as the Blower Bentley. A 4½ Litre Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1928. Though the supercharged 4½ Litre Bentley's competitive performance was not outstanding, it set several speed records, most famously the Bentley Blower Monoposto in 1932 at Brooklands with a recorded speed of km/h (138 mph).
Size: 5394px × 3432px
Location: Silverstone Circuit, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8TN
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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