Charleville in central western Queensland can be full of shocks ... usually floods. When we passed through this delightful city in July 2010 there was not a drop of water in sight, but something just as surprising: a 1929 Bentley 4 1/2 litre Le Mans tourer, parked in front of a motel, and wearing the dust and scars of travelling in the Great Australian Outback. Surely this was not the way to treat a marque that was sold by Southebys of London for 122,500 British Pounds back in 1996?
We never did get to meet the owner, but we did find out the sporting four-seater was taking part in the ‘Over the Top and Down the Side’ 2010 tour of Australia. Over the top meaning from Perth to Darwin and down the side indicating from Darwin via the Queensland outback to the Gold Coast. Those taking part were all driving Bentleys - old and new. What we stumbled across in Charleville -this magnificent 4 1/2 litre tourer - was one of those that not only went ‘Over the Top’, but continued on ‘Down the Side’ calling in at towns like Charleville on the way.
This tour gives a new meaning to the ‘Bentley Boys’ - a group of wealthy British drivers who kept, and enhanced, the Bentley reputation for speed and high-performance alive in the 1920s. When Bentley was near collapse in 1925 Bentley Boy, Woolf ‘Babe’ Barnato bought Bentley which lead directly to the development of the now famous Bentley Blower car, with a supercharger added to the car, in front of the radiator, out there for all the world to see.
It is worth recording some of the names and occupations of the Bentley Boys: Barnato who was heir to diamond magnate Barney Barnato, S.C.H. ‘Sammy’ Davis, automative journalist, George Duller, steeplechaser, Baron d’Erlanger, playboy, Clive Gallop, engineer, Glen Kidston, aviator, Bernard Rubin, pearl fishing magnate, and Jean Chassagne, French racing driver. The Bentley Boys had one thing in common: the need to win races.
History tells us Bentley won Le Mans, the world’s premier long-distance race five times: In 1924 in a 3.0 Litre Sport, 1927 in a 3.0 Litre Super Sport, 1928 in a 4 1/2 litre, 1929 and 1930 in a Speed Six. Barnato, the man who bought the company shared driving duties in the 1928, 29 and 30 victories, one of only seven drivers to have had three consecutive wins. It was at Le Mans the Bentley legend was born.
Where this Bentley fits into the picture requires a brief examination of the Bentley company. After Barnato took over the company the Great Depression hit, all but wiping out demand for expensive cars. While the company struggled financially on one hand - and won races on the other - the inevitable happened and in 1931 Bentley was sold to Rolls Royce. Much of Barnato’s fortune went on trying to save his beloved Bentley company.
So our featured car is a true Bentley produced during the company’s halcyon racing days, pre-Rolls Royce, indeed in the middle of the period which saw Bentley win four consecutive Le Mans trophies. Add to that, one of the wins came in a Bentley 4 1/2 litre in 1928 and the significance of our featured car cannot be underestimated. On top of that the famed Blower Bentley was also a 4 1/2 litre model.
The 4 1/2 litre engine was a development of the 3.0 litre Bentley engine. After Barnato took control of the company the Bentley Boys demanded more power and this led to the development of the supercharger on the front of the 4 1/2 litre. In all between 1926 - 1931 there were 720 4 1/2 litre Bentleys produced, of which 55 were fitted with the intimidating supercharger. So there were only 665 Bentley 4 1/5 litre normally-aspirated cars built.
The 4 1/2 litre car that won Le Mans in 1928 was also a normally aspirated car. The Bentley Blower car was not without success and in 1932 set a speed record of 222.03 km/h at the Brooklands circuit.
Even today there is an aura about Bentley. They are still big and fast. They turn heads. They have luxury and extraordinary performance. It is only when you see one of the Bentley Boys cars you start to get the Bentley picture and understand Bentley heritage. Old W.O.Bentley did not believe in fancy add-ons such as superchargers. In the end, in that era, he was proved correct with the Bentley Blowers not winning any long-distance event due to reliability issues. All the Bentley wins came from naturally-aspirated engines starting at 3.0 litre and ending up with the massive Bentley Sixes - six and a half litres that is.
W.O. Bentley had a saying that ‘ there’s no replacement for displacement’ which was soon taken up US makers and was alive and well until relatively recently. The normally-aspirated 4 1/2 litre Bentley engines were straight fours with two valves per cylinder with a single overhead cam. They used two SU carburettors and were linked to a four speed manual gearbox.
Perhaps though the real impact of these ‘Bentley Boys’ classics is that 80 years later they still appreciated as fine machinery with owners prepared to take them across one of the harshest continents on Earth on a journey that is still daunting, no matter the age of the car. |
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