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Old 11-09-2019, 08:25 AM   #5
DJR-351
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Default Re: Bentley to Remake 4 1/2 Blower .

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Terry View Post
The very first World Championship type race won by an Australian was won in one of these cars.

Long before Ricardo, Webber, Alan Jones, Vern Schuppan & Jack Brabham, arguably our most successful international drivers, came a bloke named Bernard Rubin. He won the Le Mans 24 hrs in 1928 driving a Bentley 4-1/2 litre for the Bentley factory team.

Dr Terry
Hate to be picky but your sorta right, the car that Bernard Rubin & Woolf Barnato won the 1928 Le Mans 24hr was a naturally aspirated Bentley 4 1/2 Litre, the Blower Bentleys didn't race at Le Mans until 1930....thats still not taking anything away from Rubin, it's still a great achievement...

Interestingly the original Blower Bentley, which was constructed privately in 1929 by Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, was originally done so without the blessing of Walter Owen Bentley who said the supercharger would ‘pervert the engine’s design and corrupt its performance’, old W O Bentley was a firm believer of if you wanted to go faster then more cubes was the answer (i've heard that here before ) but Birkin eventually persuaded Bentley Chairman Woolf Barnato to approve the project. W.O. Bentley was overruled.....the Bentley Blowers that are the subject of this topic where developed and built by Bentley from Birkins racer, it's doubtful that if W O Bentley still had full control over Bentley motors that they would have been built at all....

The original Blower Bentley is known as Bentley Blower No.1 or the Brooklands Battleship and to date is the most expensive British-built car sold, it sold in 2012 for £5,042,000...

https://www.bentleymotors.com/en/wor...r-bentley.html

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2012/0...e-british-car/

The original 1929 Bentley Blower No1
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Last edited by DJR-351; 11-09-2019 at 08:37 AM.
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