1929 | Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged

• The first production and "prototype" car of only 50 factory-built 4½-litre supercharged examples for homologation
• Exhibition car on Bentley's stand at the 1929 Olympia Motor Show and ex-factory demonstrator, tested by motor car magazines
• Very original with 'matching' engine, supercharger, chassis (except front axle), true-to-type gearbox from another Blower
• First original body from 1929 potentially for sale separately
• Extensive history well known, detailed expertise from Bentley specialist Dr Clare Hay and service logs / invoices available
• Eligible for concours and historic racing events worldwide

The 4½-litre supercharged Bentleys from the period 1929 to 1931 – commonly referred to as "Blowers" – are among the brand's most legendary early models. They date from the era when Bentley cars were very successful in motor racing and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927 (3-litre models), 1928, 1929 and 1930 (4½ and 6½-litre models). Only Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche had been so successful there since 1923. Bentley owed its success above all to the so-called "Bentley Boys" – an illustrious group of mostly financially strong entrepreneurs, bon vivants and racing drivers centred around the then Bentley boss and investor Woolf Barnato. The idea of supercharging the 4½ Litre came from racing driver Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, also one of the "Bentley Boys", in 1929. This 4½ litre Blower Bentley is the first of the 50 vehicles built in series for homologation and the only one built in 1929. As such a "prototype", it still has, among other things, the same frame head and shock absorbers as the five factory racing cars previously built as the "Birkin Blower". The car remained in factory ownership for the time being and was exhibited by Bentley at the London Olympia Motor Show on 17 October 1929. There it celebrated the world premiere of this model and established the image of those legendary supercharged Bentleys. Compared to Bentley's massive 6½-litre in-line six-cylinder engine, the 4½-litre four-cylinder was lighter and more agile in driving, but developed almost the same power of over 180 hp thanks to the supercharger. As a result, the "Blower" achieved a performance level that would do like a todays "super sports car" by the standards of the time. Because the factory-intended engine was not ready in time for the Olympia Motor Show in October 1929, Bentley presented the car there with an engine that had been borrowed from one of the five "Birkin Blower" racing cars built in advance. However, it was converted to the correct engine according to the "Production Logbook" as early as November 1929. From the very beginning, the chassis of this example has always had a four-seater Open Tourer body from English coachbuilder Vanden Plas (VdP), which values the vehicle historically correct in terms of design and appearance. Especially in comparison to many Bentley saloons that were later transformed into sporty "open tourers" with the Vanden Plas look. However, the original motor car shown at the Olympia Motor Show in its two-tone "Le Mans Green / Dockers' Champagne" paint scheme was probably a little too extravagant (according to Clare Hay) and was fitted with a new single-colour Standard Sports Four-Seater Tourer body by Vanden Plas in April 1930. Still owned by Bentley Motors, this first 4½ litre supercharged example was used as a factory demonstration car and made available to automobile journalists. Hence, exact this car was illustrated, tested and described in some magazines of the time like "The Motor" in April 1930 and "Motor Sport" in January 1931 (see illustrations on page 6). It remained in factory ownership as a demo car until September 1931. When Bentley was taken over by Rolls-Royce in November 1931, the car was initially sold to the authorised Bentley dealer Jack Barclay in London (the Bentley dealer still exists today), who passed the car on to the dealer Frank Scott in Newcastle in February 1932. Through him, the Bentley then came to its first private owner: Bentley enthusiast J. Weston Adamson from Northallerton/Yorkshire. In 1933, he sold the car to A. James McAlpine in Wrexham/North Wales. In his ownership, the Bentley was involved in an accident in August 1934. As a result, the front axle was replaced by another overhauled component at Wrexham Motors, which is noted in the Bentley Motors service log. The next owner was Charles Lewis from London in 1934, who probably passed the car to S.R. Miller in Watford in 1939 at the latest, where it survived the war. The owner chronicle then names Victor Doland and W.H.R. White as owners from 1946 and J.F. Gurney from 1951. In 1967, P.W. Neale became the next owner. He presumably exchanged the installed engine for another one or this had already been done before. In any case, P.W. Neale was in charge of the original power unit and kept it in his possession when the Bentley was taken over by the Australian J.T. Jeffery in 1971 at the latest. At some point during the 1960s/1970s or early 1980s, the current bodywork was installed. It is a recreation of the Vanden Plas Open Tourer bodywork in "Le Mans" style, inspired by the "team cars" used by Henry Tim Birkin at Le Mans. The attractive look includes the "Birkin" helmet mudguards, the petrol tank and the instrument panel in the cockpit. The Bentley returned to Europe in the early 1980s. It was advertised in "MotorSport" magazine via the London dealer C.A.R. Howard (see illustration on next page) in September 1982 and already had the current bodywork. The next owner (name known) in Great Britain was very fortunate that the former owner Neale offered the retained original engine for sale in 1984. Hence, the Bentley was restored to its original condition on the drive side – including the original supercharger (Amherst Villers MK. IV Twin Rotor, System Roots). Around ten years later, the special Blower once again achieved press popularity when it was presented in a detailed driving report in the British collectors' magazine "Popular Classics" in July 1994. Around 2011, a Swiss collector (name known) acquired the vehicle, who finally sold it to its current owner in the UK in 2013. He continued to invest in the high-quality condition and service and overhaul invoices totalling around GBP 75,000 are available for the period 2014 to 2018. In addition to the original engine and supercharger, this first series-built Blower also has a largely original, matching-numbers rolling chassis with the exception of the previously mentioned exchanged front axle from Bentley and the manual gearbox. The gearbox with single disc clutch fitted today corresponds to the Bentley type "D" with overdrive. It comes from a later-produced 4½ litre "Blower" and is therefore true to type. An interesting special feature in terms of originality is the first body from 1929, which was assembled at the Olympia Motor Show. This bodywork still exists today in good condition on another Bentley chassis. As the car and owner are known, it may be possible to acquire this original bodywork and return the Bentley to its original condition. This would be feasible without great expense and should significantly increase the value of this "Blower". Alongside Bugatti and Mercedes Benz, Bentley is one of the very few brands whose superchargers from motorsport were also used in road vehicles. The aura of the early motorsport era is therefore always on the passenger seat and makes such cars eligible for top-class concours and historic racing events worldwide. This first Bentley 4½ Litre Blower, which was built in series after the factory racing cars, is certainly one of the most original examples still in existence worldwide. Its role as a "prototype" makes it even more special, rounded off by the comprehensive documentation of its history and technical details by vintage Bentley expert Clare Hay.