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Post #1 Thu, Jul 6, 10:21 AM |
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It's Your Birt - 2842
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Sale Title AUTOMOBILES DE COLLECTION LE MANS CLASSIC
Location Paris Sale Date Jul 08, 2006
Estimate 1,400,000 - 1,800,000 Euros
BENTLEY 4½ LITRE SUPERCHARGED
Year: 1931
Chassis No. MS 3948
Engine No. MS 3951
Engine: four cylinder in-line, overhead camshaft, (heavy crank), 4.398cc, with Amherst Villiers Mk IV Rootes type Supercharger, 175bhp at 3.500 rpm, 182 bhp at 3,900rpm; Gearbox: four speed manual 'D Type' unit; Suspension: front, Woodhead semi-elliptic leaf springs, rear, Berry semi-elliptic leaf springs; Brakes: four wheel, rod-operated drum. Right hand drive.
Coachwork: Le Mans Four Seater Sports in the style of a Vanden Plas, British Racing Green with green leather interior
Model history
Few cars can be so immediately linked with the venue for today's sale, than the 'Blower' Bentley.
It is a matter of history that arch Bentley Boy, Henry 'Tim' Birkin desperately battled with W.O. Bentley to use the modern supercharging technology of the day to give him a car with more power in his endless quest to win Le Mans. While 'W.O.' resisted, Birkin was able to persuade fellow Bentley Boy and Chairman of the company, Woolf Barnato to aid his project, and allowed him to employ Amherst Villiers to supercharge the existing 4½ litre car.
In those days, manufacturers were governed by the requirements of the Automobile Club de L'Ouest that no fewer than 50 cars of a model had to be assembled to deem it a production car and make it eligible for Le Mans. Precisely that number were to be built, with an additional 5 chassis for Birkin.
The haunch, aggressive looks that result from the addition of the supercharger to the front of the modest 10ft 10inch chassis, are matched by the overall strengthening of the car throughout, from its front blower carrying cross member and shortened but thicker core radiator to Speed Six pattern back axle and robust 'D' Type gearbox. Naturally, it was the engine that was most geared up to withstand the effects of the supercharger, the standard 47lb crank being replaced with a 'heavy' 75lb unit, the main bearings were increased to 80mm over the standard 55mm. Villier's Rootes type supercharger fitted with twin SU carburettors added a boost of 10/11 lbs per square inch, which all combined to provide over 100 mph performance and no loss of flexibility. A 'blower' would have set its new owner back some £1,475 in 1929.
The cars were built in two series, chassis SM 3901-3925 and MS 3926-3950, the second series being visually distinctive by the ribbed casing of their superchargers.
From its debut at the London Motor Show in 1929, the Supercharged 4½ Litre's popularity has progressively developed to reach legendary cult status today. A large part of this must be attributed to Birkin's cunning 'hare and tortoise' act in the 1930 Le Mans, where having realised that the reliability over the 24 hours of the Endurance race was looking doubtful, he ate 'humble pie' and modestly worked with the works to play hare against the marque's main competitors Mercedes, racing them so hard that Caraciola's supercharger expired allowing W.O. Bentley to achieve his 5th Le Mans victory with the Speed Sixes of Kidston/Barnato and Clement/Watney.
That was the start of the motoring world's love of the 'Blower', its iconic status has continued to be enhanced, Ian Fleming may be responsible for this in choosing a blower Bentley as James Bond's mode of transport in the very first of his novels Casino Royale. That blower Bentley is introduced thus: 'Bond's car was his only personal hobby. One of the last of the 4½ litre Bentleys with the supercharger by Amherst-Villiers he had bought it almost new in 1933 and kept it in careful storage throughout the war. It was still serviced every year and, in London, a former Bentley mechanic, who worked in a garage near Bond's Chelsea flat, tended it with jealous care. Bond drove it hard and well with an almost sensual pleasure. It was a battleship-grey convertible coupe, and it was capable of touring at ninety with thirty miles an hour in reserve.'
The use of a standard 4½ chassis for the basis of one of the greatest cars of all time, has not surprisingly lead others to follow in Birkin's footsteps and uprate their cars to this specification, which again has enhanced the accessibility and visibility of these cars, but then copy is of course the greatest form of flattery.
The reality is that just 55 original works Blower Bentleys were ever built, ensuring that the 'Blower' Bentley is therefore not only one of the most evocative cars of all time, but one of the most exclusive also. When one considers that only 80 of the production run has survived to today, and the fact that a large proportion of the cars that do now reside institutions or long term private ownerships, opportunities to purchase an original blower are few and far between.
Christie's is therefore delighted to offer this original second series 'Blower' for sale.
Specific history
MS 3948 can be verified by the original factory build sheets that reside with the Bentley Drivers Club as having been completed on 23rd June 1931 and sold to Jack Barclays with Vanden Plas Drophead Coupe Coachwork, presumably very much in the style of James Bond's car described above. Period photographs of the car in this form exist.
The first owner was E. G. Titley of Cambridge, who covered just over 8,400 miles in the car, while keeping it for 3 years. Minor servicing work was carried out at the works during this time.
Next, L. Illingworth of Ilkeley, Yorkshire, U.K. purchased the 'Blower'. Now out of guarantee, works maintenance detailed is modest and inconsequential, although the fitting of the Ki-Gass primer that the car still wears is noted.
In 1935 the car was sold to K. Broadhead, in whose ownership it seems to have been maintained by McKenzies Garages of London, W1, which must allude to London ownership.
Through three further ownerships, all of which are documented on an old British log book the car passed to the previous owner in the late 1950s before being sold to the current owner.
In the purchase of GY7847 the new owner not only becomes the custodian of a unique piece of history as it is one of the 50 supercharged cars made by Bentley (Only 41 of which are known to survive) but benefits from being the third to last one made thereby incorporating all the modifications that the factory had developed including the later and more desirable vane cased supercharger (Number 147).
It is a numbers matching car in all respects except for the 'D' type gearbox which was replaced with another factory 'D' type gearbox at some stage in the car's early life. The Vanden Plas Le Mans style body was fitted in the late 1960s, being constructed using a Robinson frame, with finishing and trimming by former employees of Rippon Bros. of Huddersfield - famed coachbuilders and suppliers of cars since the early part of the 20th Century.
The Blower was inspected by Clare Hay in December 2005 who remarked on the originality of the mechanicals on the car a number of which one will only find on an original Blower. Such details as retaining the factory wire seals with lead crimping still in place on the inspection plug to the differential and another on the prop shaft joint say a lot about the un-messed with condition of the car.
MS 3948 was re-commissioned by Elmdown Engineering Ltd. in December 2005 benefiting from a new clutch, new valve springs, attention to the water pump and various other aspects. On the inspection it was observed that the bores were still at 100mm diameter and the original Bentley valves with the hardened insert in the end were still in place showing only slight signs of wear. All this adds up to a car that has not had a lot of use in its life.
Another interesting detail from the original factory build sheet is the fact that a Revolution counter was ordered. It is known that this was supplied by Speedometer Supply Co. Ltd. 35, Great Queen Street, Kingsway, London WC2. It is understood that this instrument has been rebuilt but the face has been preserved as a separate item for display in one's office. The instrument last received attention by Thomas Richfield in London on the 14th November 1966 worked on by Alf Green and was initialled by him to the rear of the face as he always did!
In addition to the complete provenance of the Bentley, a particularly nice aspect is that it has been well-documented in various books from Bentley 4½ Litre Supercharged by Foulis, Bentley Heritage by Bird and Blower Bentley by Hay. Various copies of correspondence, build sheets and archive material accompany the car.
On balance the car must be in the most desirable condition of all, with its authenticity rubber-stamped by the experts mentioned above and yet aesthetically wearing a delightfully aged patina suggesting and no doubt proving that even its modest mileage has been thoroughly enjoyed. 'GY 7847' (U.K.) is a delight to drive and comes with a British MOT test certificate until November 2006 and a valid road fund licence.
Aside from being part of one of the most exclusive and envied clubs in the world, following in the footsteps of everyone from racing drivers, to fictional British agents, a Blower Bentley is enormous fun to drive and today offers the key to the door to a number of notable events such as the Mille Miglia and Colorado Grand.
Edited by Richard Owen - Thu, Jul 6, 10:53 AM
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