1929 | Bentley 4 1/2 Litre

Transmission: 4 gears, Manual gearbox
Registration number: BE-33-31

The Bentley Blower, an icon of pre-war cars and unsurpassed when it came to performance. These days the original Bentley Blower stands as inspiration for the many remakes, but best of all is of course a genuine Bentley. The car we have on offer started life as a Bentley 4 ½ Litre with a wonderful provenance.

He was a gentleman of standing, Leonard Courtney, a prerequisite if you could afford a new Bentley in 1929. And so it came to pass that he set his signature under the contract of his Bentley 4 ½ Litre Saloon with Morgan coachwork built according to the Weyman principle. That entailed an upholstered wooden frame. That very year he was able to collect his car from Roots Ltd of Piccadilly, W1 London. One of the most prestigious car dealerships, in one of the most luxurious parts of London at the time.

No lack of historical detail with this Bentley. The car features in the well-known book “The Vintage Years” by Clare Hay. From this we gleam the car has an engine that came out of another almost as old 4 ½ Litre. This car’s original engine apparently fitted in another Bentley. So we have the correct but not matching engine. There are handwritten documents from the firs decades describing the sale, re-sale, service and modifications carried out.

73 years ago when the Bentley 21 years of age, the then owner decided to replace the coachwork with its current Vanden Plas Open Tourer one. A couple of decades on a Roots Supercharger is fitted as the paperwork continues to keep us abreast. In 2001 the Blower ends up with its most recent guardian. Now don’t get any ideas the car now went for its servicing and maintenance to the local mechanic. Nothing could be further from the truth; the owner drove his Bentley over to England where only the best people delivering only the best service were allowed to take care of business. Again we have ample documentation in the form of a sizeable pile of invoices to underpin this.

The current owner also decided there was still more to gain from a complete body-off restoration, including tackling the chassis. The bodywork, the interior and mechanics are then all attended to according to the “no expense spared” principle before the car was rebuilt to Le Mans specification. Right down to the very smallest detail the Le Mans spec was followed. The Blower too was enlarged, again in accordance with the Le Mans spec. Everything once more being beautifully documented.

To dot the I’s and cross the T’s a 2007 overhaul took care of every moving part from the behind the engine backwards, that included the “crown and pinion, differential and drive shaft.

Since the full restoration the Bentley has been used sparingly, adding only a few thousand fantastic miles to the Blower. All this has resulted in us being able to offer you an exceptionally fine Bentley 4 ½ Litre in formidable condition together with a priceless provenance. We are very unlikely to see anything of similar quality pass our threshold any time soon.

Gallery Aaldering is Europe’s leading Classic Cars specialist since 1975! Always 400 Classic and Sportscars in stock, please visit www.gallery-aaldering.com for the current stock list (all offered cars are available in our showroom) and further information. We are located near the German border, 95 km from Düsseldorf and 90 km from Amsterdam. So easy traveling by plane, train, taxi and car. Transport and worldwide shipping can be arranged. No duties/import costs within Europe. We buy, sell and provide consignment sales (selling on behalf of the owner). We can arrange/provide registration/papers for our German (H-Kennzeichen, TÜV, Fahrzeugbrief, Wertgutachten usw.) and Benelux customers. Gallery Aaldering, Arnhemsestraat 47, 6971 AP Brummen, The Netherlands. Tel: 0031-575-564055. Quality, experience and transparency is what sets us apart. We look forward to welcoming you in our showroom