Bentley 3-4½-Litre Speed Model Sports 1927, Inglaterra

Bentley 3-4½-Litre Speed Model Sports 1927, Inglaterra
Fotografia


With characteristic humility 'W O' was constantly amazed by the enthusiasm of later generations for the products of Bentley Motors Limited, and it is testimony to the soundness of his engineering design skills that so many of his products have survived. From the humblest of beginnings in a mews garage off Baker Street, London in 1919, the Bentley rapidly achieved fame as an exciting fast touring car, well able to compete with the best of European and American sports cars in the tough world of motor sport in the 1920s. Bentley's domination at Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930 is legendary, and one can only admire the Herculean efforts of such giants as Woolf Barnato, Jack Dunfee, Tim Birkin and Sammy Davis, consistently wrestling the British Racing Green sports cars to victory.
W O Bentley proudly unveiled the new 3-litre car bearing his name on Stand 126 at the 1919 Olympia Motor Exhibition, the prototype engine having fired up for the first time just a few weeks earlier. Bentley's four-cylinder 'fixed head' engine incorporated a single overhead camshaft, four-valves per cylinder and a bore/stroke of 80x149mm. Twin ML magnetos provided the ignition and power was transmitted via a four-speed gearbox with right-hand change. The pressed-steel chassis started off with a wheelbase of 9' 9½" then adopted dimensions of 10' 10" ('Standard Long') in 1923, the shorter frame being reserved for the TT Replica and subsequent Speed Model. Rear wheel brakes only were employed up to 1924 when four-wheel Perrot-type brakes were introduced.
In only mildly developed form, this was the model that was to become a legend in motor racing history and which, with its leather-strapped bonnet, classical radiator design and British Racing Green livery, has become the archetypal Vintage sports car.
Early success in the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, when Bentleys finished second, fourth, and fifth to take the Team Prize, led to the introduction of the TT Replica (later known as the Speed Model) on the existing 9' 9½" wheelbase, short standard chassis. Identified by the Red Label on its radiator, the Speed Model differed by having twin SU 'sloper' carburettors, a higher compression ratio, different camshaft and the close-ratio A-type gearbox, the latter being standard equipment prior to 1927 when the C-type 'box was adopted. These engine changes increased maximum power from the standard 70 to 80bhp and raised top speed to an impressive 90mph. Other enhancements included the larger (11-gallon) fuel tank and (usually) André Hartford shock absorbers.
Bentley made approximately 1,600 3-Litre models (513 to Speed Model specification), the majority of which was bodied by Vanden Plas with either open tourer or saloon coachwork. Indeed, VdP was responsible for bodying Speed Model 'HT1631', which was completed with the North London coachbuilder's four-seat tourer coachwork in September 1927 and sold new to one K S Peacock. The car left the factory fitted with engine number 'HT1634' and was first registered as 'OX 1607'.
Arguably this car's greatest claim to fame is the fact that it was once owned by Forrest Lycett, gentleman racing driver and renowned Bentley aficionado, who was also one of the founders of the Bentley Drivers' Club (BDC). Forrest Lycett owned a succession of standard and not-so-standard Bentleys (many of which still exist) including the legendary 8-Litre built for him by Lewis 'Mac' McKenzie. Clearly a man with an insatiable appetite for speed, Forrest Lycett first attained a genuine 100mph on the public highway while driving his Speed Six in Spain, and in 1951 was timed at 136mph on the Jabbeke autoroute in Belgium at the wheel of the 8-Litre. Prior to WW2 the latter had been one of the world's fastest road cars, setting the International Class B standing-start kilometre record at Brooklands in 1937 and the British standing-start mile record at the Surrey track in 1939. Taking a break from his job in the City of London, Forrest Lycett famously drove to Brooklands on the latter occasion, broke the record and was back at his desk soon afterwards.
It was Lycett who in 1936 commissioned the two-seat Corsica body this car has today. Based in North London, Corsica was a relatively small firm that allowed clients considerable freedom in determining their cars' final appearance – surely the ultimate in 'bespoke' – an approach that endeared it to wealthy sporting motorists such as Lycett.
In February 1950, Lycett gave the car to Mac McKenzie's son Don, probably in appreciation of the work Don had done for him. In a (copy) article on file, Don recalls that the Bentley had been "well stored on blocks in a dry, warm lock-up" and that it required a full engine rebuild. Modifications carried out included fitting standard-bore Specialoid pistons; replacing the ML magnetos with Scintilla units; fitting a Borg & Beck clutch and lightened flywheel; and installing a coaxial starter. After the driving position had been adjusted (the body had been made to measure for Lycett), the car "performed quite well at the BDC Silverstone meeting..." Further modifications were made over the winter months and Don went on to make several attempts at 100 miles in the hour, first at Monza and later at Montlhéry. By this time reregistered 'KOY 300', the car is pictured at Monza and Silverstone in Ray Roberts' Bentley Specials & Special Bentleys. Circa 1955 a triple-carburettor 4½-litre engine was fitted to the chassis, which by this time featured hydraulic brakes, 16" wheels, and a lowered radiator.
From 1962 'KOY 300' was owned by well-known 'Vintage' racer 'Jonty' Williamson, who enjoyed considerable success, winning the BDC's Rolls-Royce Trophy on four occasions, as well as the VSCC's Pomeroy Trophy and Richard Seaman Memorial Trophy. The Brighton Speed Trials were attended regularly.
The Bentley is known to have passed later on through the hands of dealer Bunty Scott-Moncrieff. A (copy) old-style logbook on file lists two subsequent owners: Lord Binning of Dunbar and from September 1977 Paul-Heinz Roehll (Röhll), a German citizen with a home in Staffordshire. The Bentley appears to have resided in Germany from 1977 to 2005, latterly in the ownership of Mr Jürgen Pyritz, who had the car maintained by recognised Vintage Bentley specialist, Neil Davies (NDR Ltd). It was Neil who replaced the engine for the previous German owner, installing a genuine 4½-litre unit rebuilt with a Phoenix crankshaft and con-rods.
The current vendor acquired 'KOY 300' from NDR in 2006, and there are bills on file showing that during the next two years the car benefited from considerable work undertaken by Vintage and Historic restoration specialists D H Day of Swindon. Some £40,000-50,000 has been spent during the vendor's stewardship.
Little changed in appearance since Forrest Lycett's day, 'KOY 300' is a highly developed competition 3-Litre with a sporting pedigree stretching back to the 1930s. It is capable of exceeding 100mph and Bonhams can vouch for the fact that it goes like the proverbial rocket! Recently serviced and offered with a substantial data file, this historic 3-Litre is a car for the active Bentley enthusiast.