A legend is reborn amongst 1000 Bentley’s
09.09.2019
Reading Time: 3 minutes
More than a thousand modern and heritage Bentleys have set a new record for the largest gathering of Bentleys in history. 1,321 cars arrived at the Bentley Drivers Club Annual Rally, hosted this year at the Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance, together forming a stunning photograph to continue Bentley’s year-long Centenary celebrations.
Bentleys from across the history of the company were on display, bracketed by EXP2 - the oldest Bentley in the world and the second car built by W.O. Bentley - and EXP 100 GT, the very latest Bentley concept car that looks forward to the future of luxury mobility in 2035, in its UK public debut.
Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “The sight of over a thousand Bentleys gathered in one place was truly extraordinary, and totally unparalleled in our history. I’m grateful to the organisers of Salon Privé for making this year’s event such an outstanding celebration of Bentley, and this gathering to mark our centenary was the ultimate finale. My thanks go to the committee of the Bentley Drivers Club for their hard work and dedication in amassing these cars, and to their members and our customers for making the journey and sharing their cars with us.”
As an extra to the Bentley event, Mulliner announced that one of their most iconic cars from Bentley’s history – Sir Tim Birkin’s 1929 supercharged 4 ½ litre “Blower” more commonly known as the Team Car No.2 is to be reborn with a new build of 12 matching cars.
All twelve of these vehicles will be individually handcrafted by their team of specialists from Mulliner. Together, the new cars will present the world’s first pre-war race car continuation series.
In the late 1920s, there were four original ‘Team Blowers’ that were built for racing by Birkin. All were presented on the racetracks of Europe with the most famous vehicle racing at Le Mans and playing a pivotal role in the factory Bentley Speed Six victory in 1930.
For many, the imposing ‘Blower’ is the iconic racing Bentley of the pre-war years, forever linked with the image of its driver, the dashing Bentley Boy Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin. The 4 ½ Litre Supercharged was the least successful of all the Cricklewood Bentleys in competition – and founder W.O. Bentley bitterly opposed its development. But while it lasted, the 4 ½ Litre Supercharged Blower went like a rocket, earning Bentley a legion of fans at every race it entered.
During the 1920’s superchargers were increasingly being tested and used in cars with varying results.
Bentley began to work with a British engineer, Amehurst Villiers; to develop a supercharger that sits on the front of the engine to increase the power and speed. It was Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin that persuaded W.O. Bentley to try the ‘supercharger’.
Using a combination of generations of the best handcraftsmanship skills and latest digital technology, the 1929 ‘Team Blower’ will be the master example for 12 continuations – one for each race the original fleet of four Team Blowers competed in.
Only 12 of these cars will be reproduced globally, anyone interested in purchasing on of these very limited cars should contact the Bentley team: blower@bentley.co.uk Or for more information contact Bentley Cambridge.
