Bentley 4 1/2-Liter \"Blower\"

The 4 1/2-liter Bentley was the last of the traditional big sporting cars with four-cylinder engines. In concept it was a scaled up three-liter with the same bevel-driven overhead-camshaft and non-detachable cylinder head, but output was up to 110-115 bhp and maximum speed to over the 90 mph mark. The supercharged version first seen at the 1929 London show wore its Amherst Villiers blower and twin SU carburetors between the front dumb-irons, and with 182 bhp, speed rose to well over 100 mph, without any loss of flexibility.

The “Blower” Bentley was the idea of Sir Henry Birkin, perhaps the most famous of the “Bentley Boys,” in his quest for more speed and his ultimate aim of winning at Le Mans. Birkin persuaded Bentley Chairman, Woolf Barnato, to employ the engineer Amherst Villiers to supercharge the 4 1/2-liter car, although against the wishes of W.O. Bentley. In order to achieve entry into Le Mans, the Automobile Club de L’Ouest insisted at least 50...