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<\/a><\/p>\nThis highly exclusive run of 12 customer cars \u2013 all pre-sold – will be crafted from the design drawings and tooling jigs used for the original four Blowers built and raced by Sir Henry \u2018Tim\u2019 Birkin in the late 1920s. Specifically, Bentley\u2019s own Team Car (Chassis HB 3403, engine SM 3902, registration UU 5872 – Team Car #2) has provided the master model for the Continuation Series, with every single component laser-scanned as part of a wheels-up, sympathetic restoration.<\/p>\n
From this data, 1,846 individual parts have been designed and hand-crafted to create the new Blower. 230 of those parts are actually assemblies \u2013 one of which being the engine \u2013 taking the total part count to several thousand when fixings and interior trim parts are included. Each of these parts and assemblies have been created by a project team of Bentley Mulliner engineers, craftspeople and technicians working together with a number of British specialists and suppliers.<\/p>\n
Blower Car Zero is a dedicated test and development prototype, built in advance of the 12 customer cars, and will be subjected to months of durability and performance testing. Finished in gloss black, with an interior in Oxblood red leather from Bridge of Weir, Car Zero made its debut today to officially mark the creation of the new Bentley Motors campus in Crewe. Made possible by the closing of Pyms Lane \u2013 Bentley\u2019s address since 1946 \u2013 the campus extends Bentley\u2019s headquarters to a new expanded footprint.<\/p>\n Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors, Adrian Hallmark, had the honor of driving Car Zero down Pyms Lane to mark the occasion, and commented:<\/p>\n \u201cToday was a truly remarkable day, not just as a milestone in the Blower Continuation Series project but also for Bentley Motors. To drive the first new Blower in 90 years was a privilege, and the quality of the car would make Sir Tim Birkin himself proud. The craftsmanship is exquisite, and I\u2019m pleased to report that the car drives just as beautifully as our original Team Car.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was also significant that I could drive the new Blower down Pyms Lane, now part of our main site as we expand to create the new Bentley campus. Investing in our headquarters is vital both for Bentley\u2019s future and for Crewe, and our new developments and buildings are a physical manifestation of the exciting future before us as we start our journey to become the world leader in sustainable luxury mobility.\u201d<\/p>\n The Blower Continuation Series is the first customer-facing project delivered by the new Bentley Mulliner Classic portfolio, one of three new divisions of Mulliner alongside Coachbuilt (currently developing the equally-exclusive Bacalar) and Collections (responsible for the Continental GT Mulliner).<\/p>\n From there, a team of artisan specialists were recruited to start manufacturing the components that Bentley Mulliner would bring together to form the first Blower.<\/p>\n Bentley\u2019s Director of Mulliner, Paul Williams, comments:<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing Car Zero come together over the last weeks and months has been astonishing. The very latest digital design techniques came together with genuine artisanal hand-crafted artistry \u2013 often using manufacturing methods true to the 1920s. It\u2019s only through this fusion of old and new that we could craft these cars, with the skills of our engineers mirrored in those of our specialist suppliers. We\u2019ve issued thousands of drawings and specifications for components, and watching them arrive into Mulliner and then seeing the car take shape has been hugely rewarding. Now we start the next phase \u2013 testing and development, ahead of the build of the 12 customer cars.\u201d<\/p>\n From the outset, Bentley Mulliner sought to engage the very best specialists across the country to create componentry for the Blower Continuation Series in a manner befitting such a project \u2013 using traditional techniques passed down through generations.<\/p>\n The chassis has been created in heavy-gauge steel, hand-formed and hot riveted by the specialists at Israel Newton & Sons Ltd. This 200-year old company, based near Derby, traditionally makes boilers for steam locomotives and traction engines, and as such has the skills to forge and shape metal in a traditional way.<\/p>\n The Vintage Car Radiator Company, based at Bicester Heritage, has crafted exact recreations of the some of the Blower\u2019s key components \u2013 including the mirror-polished, solid nickel silver radiator shell and the hand-beaten fuel tank formed in steel and copper. Market leaders in the manufacture and restoration of vintage car radiators and components to the highest possible standards of craftsmanship and authenticity, they were the perfect choice to handcraft these tricky and vital components.<\/p>\n Leaf springs and shackles have been made to original specifications by Jones Springs Ltd, a specialist in the West Midlands with nearly 75 years of experience and a history that started in a blacksmith\u2019s forge.<\/p>\n The Blower\u2019s iconic headlamps have been reborn by Vintage Headlamp Restoration International Ltd in Sheffield. This father and son team is world-renowned for their silversmithing and ability to create vintage-design headlamps from original specifications.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, in the bespoke Mulliner Trim Shop in Crewe, a new ash frame created by Lomax Coachbuilders (based in Ludlow) underwent final stages of carpentry with Mulliner\u2019s team of experts, including the application of 25 meters of highly specialised Rexine material used to wrap the body. Hand-trimming of the body was then completed by Mulliner\u2019s master craftsmen. For Car Zero, the gloss black bodywork is paired with Oxblood red Bridge of Weir leather and matching trim. As per the originals, the seats are stuffed with a total of 10 kilograms of natural horsehair.<\/p>\n Breathing New Life into an Iconic Engine While the first engine was being assembled, work was also underway to convert an engine testbed at Bentley\u2019s Crewe headquarters to accept the nearly 100-year old engine design. The engine test facility has been at Bentley since the factory was built in 1938, and the cells were originally used to run-in and power-test Merlin V12 aero engines produced by the factory for the Spitfire and Hurricane fighters of the Second World War.<\/p>\n Preparing the test bed involved making a replica Blower front chassis to hold the engine, which could then be mounted to the computer-controlled engine dynamometer. A new software version to measure and control the engine was written and tested, allowing Bentley\u2019s engineers to monitor and run the engine to precise parameters. As the Blower powertrain is considerably different in size and shape to Bentley\u2019s modern production engines, a number of the original Merlin testbed fixtures \u2013 still in storage at Bentley – have been utilised to adapt the testbed to accommodate these special engines.<\/p>\n With the engine fully installed, the engine was put through a defined schedule of run-in ahead of fitment to the car.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nBlower Car Zero \u2013 A Project of Draftsmen and Craftsmen<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/strong>The first step in creating Car Zero was an extensive analysis of the original design drawings and drafts that were referenced in the creation of the original Blower Team Cars, together with archived period photographs of the cars. Following a piece-by-piece disassembly of the #2 Team Car owned by Bentley (likely the most valuable Bentley in the world) and an exceptionally precise laser scanning of the frame and its components, a complete digital CAD model of the Blower was created.<\/p>\n<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure>\n<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Car Zero\u2019s brand new 4\u00bd-litre engine, originally designed by W.O Bentley himself, has been created with the expert support of specialists including NDR Ltd in Watford. Featuring many innovations of which a sports car engine of the 1970s would be proud \u2013 aluminium pistons, an overhead camshaft, four valves per cylinder and twin spark ignition \u2013 the renowned 4\u00bd-litre engine has been paired with a newly machined Amherst Villiers roots-type supercharger. The newly created Blower engine is an exact recreation of the engines that powered Tim Birkin\u2019s four Team Blowers that raced in the late 1920s \u2013 including the use of magnesium for the crankcase.<\/p>\n<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure>\n
