Minichamps 1930 Bentley 4 1/2 Liter LeMans 'Blower'

Bentley Motors Limited was founded in England in 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley, who previously operated a company with his brother under the name “Bentley & Bentley”, which specialized in DFP automobiles. W.O. Bentley himself was an ardent race car driver who won a couple of races with self tuned cars.

The Blower Bentley, a supercharged 4.5 Litre, was instigated and produced by Sir Henry 'Tim' Birkin in his quest for more power and speed. The decision to supercharge the existing car was not, however, universally acclaimed. W.O. Bentley believed that an equal increase in performance was obtainable by increasing engine capacity as with the Speed Six. As well as five special 'Team' cars that formed the Birkin Paget race team, a further batch of fifty cars were built at Birkin's Welwyn Factory.

It was the production of these road cars that enabled the Blower to be raced. While proving to be quicker than the Speed Six, the Blower was not as durable and never won at Le Mans. Its performance however, was never in doubt. The car still holds the lap record, at an average speed of 89.69mph (144.362km/h), for the course as it was at the time. The Blower Bentleys are undoubtedly amongst the most charismatic and best known Bentleys ever produced.

-Minichamps