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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged - The history of the famous "Blower Bentley"

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Created on August 1, 1987

Reading time 14min

Written by:

Edward P. Eves

Photos:

Bentley Media

Bruno von Rotz

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Bentley / Werk

Bonhams

Mathieu Heurtault - Courtesy Gooding & Co

Peter Singhof - Courtesy Gooding & Co

Courtesy Lukas Hüni AG

Archiv

Bentley Media

Bruno von Rotz

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

Bentley / Werk

Bonhams

Mathieu Heurtault - Courtesy Gooding & Co

Peter Singhof - Courtesy Gooding & Co

Courtesy Lukas Hüni AG

Archiv

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre “Blower” Portrait (1929)

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre “Blower” (1929) - Vogelperspektive

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Bentley 3 Litre (1925) - Motor mit vier Zylindern und vier Ventilen pro Zylinder

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Sports Tourer (1928) - Einlass-Seite eines nicht aufgeladenen Motors

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged 'Blower' Sports Tourer (1930) - Einlass-Seite des aufgeladenen Vierzylinders

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged "Blower" (1929) – dank Kompressor 220 PS bei 4200min

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged "Blower" (1929) – Das namensgebende Gebläse vor dem Kühlergrill

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Single Seater Birkin (1929) - A-04 - Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2017

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Single Seater Birkin (1929) - Tim Birkins einsitziger Le-Mans-Rennwagen von 1930

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Le Mans 1923 – zwei Excelsior Albert 1er (Nummer 1 und 2) und ein Lorraine-Dietrich (rechts mit Nummer 5) auf der Start-Ziel Geraden...

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Bentley 3 Litre Sports (1924) – der Le-Mans-Siegerwagen von Cpt. John Duff (am Steuer) und Frank Clement

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Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Le Mans Tourer (1927) – erstmaliger Einsatz beim 24-Stunden-Rennen 1927

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Bentley Speed Six (1929) - Sieger der 24 Stunden von Le Mans 1929

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Bentley Speed Six Old No. 2 (1930) - bei den 24 Stunden von Le Mans

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Bentley Speed Six "Old Number One" (1930) – Glen Kidston und Cpt. Woolf Barnato bei der Siegesrunde in Le Mans

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Bentley 4 1/2-Litre Tourer by Vanden Plas (1929) - Basis für die Blower-Rennwagen

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Summary

Almost 100 years ago, turbocharging was already a good way of combining high engine power with comparatively small displacement. Today, the 1920s Bentley racing cars with Rootes blowers are among the most famous and sought-after of their kind, even if they never achieved great success on the track. This article tells the story of the Blower-Bentleys from their origins to their peak.

This article contains the following chapters

Between 1924 and 1930
The blower engine
Only five Blower Bentleys
Fireworks at Le Mans
Stardom without victory
Where have they gone?
At the wheel
Around two tons
The 4-1/2-liter Bentley
"Swiss" background

Estimated reading time: 14min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In the late 1920s, newspapers still reported on the big motor races on their front pages, whereas today they only do so when a serious accident has occurred. When the Bentley team went to Le Mans for the historic engine battles, the major British newspapers covered the "Bentley boys", their problems and prospects of victory in detail. This was "front page news", i.e. front-page stories. It was under these circumstances that the Bentley myth was born. However, these cars were by no means designed for motorsport, and the particularly legendary "Blower Bentley" was neither created in the manufacturer's factory, nor had the factory ever given its blessing for supercharging.

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