Blower Bentley reborn.

[Richard Bartrop]

Got a Bentley itch that even the Airfix kit won't scratch?

Bentley's getting into the recreation game with a new series of replica 1929 4.5 Litre "Blower" models. 

https://www.bentleymedia.com/en/newsitem/985-bentleys-iconic-1929-team-blower-to-be-reborn-with-12-strong-continuation-series

[Ace-Garageguy]

Holy cow. That certainly IS something I'd buy if I had Bill Gates' money. 

[gtx6970]

Cool car

[Ace-Garageguy]

[89AKurt]

Yea, that's cool, but in the article they mention another car, which is REALLY cool, for an old classic.

https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/bentleys-mulliner-1939-corniche-rebuild-2862848/

[Bugatti Fan]

This is nothing new as there have been quite a number of blower replicas built by specialist car restorers and builders over the years

[Richard Bartrop]

11 minutes ago, Bugatti Fan said:

This is nothing new as there have been quite a number of blower replicas built by specialist car restorers and builders over the years

Though the fact that the factory is getting into the game is a new twist.

[Junkman]

I wonder on which legal grounds they are going to be made street legal.
Although the targeted income group is above the law anyway.

[Bugatti Fan]

They will probably never hit the road. Most likely be trailered to shows or locked away as accruing investments by the super rich.

Why the factory is having 1920's replicas made is anyones guess. Looks like a prestige exercise whereby the building will be farmed out to specialist engine, chassis and coach  builders.

Cannot see them being built at Crewe alongside normal production models.

[sjordan2]

The Blower Bentley shown here bears the registration owned by a Bentley executive and is on the reissue of the 1/12 Airfix kit. The original kit had Ralph Lauren’s UR6571 registration, but the Bentley exec told Airfix to change it to his number for the reissue (That’s what Hornby told me on inquiry). It’s the only difference between the original and reissued kits.

[Richard Bartrop]

Apparently they're going to take apart one of the originals, scan all the parts, and use that info to build their replicas.

I imagine all that digital info would be very useful for anyone contemplating a new Blower Bentley kit.

[LDO]

That is one heck of a gap between original production and continuation series. 

[Lizard Racing]

It's kind of funny, the Bentley model which is best known is the least successful.  The unblown 4.5 or the Speed Six are the ones which dominated Le Mans.

The blower overstressed the engine into unreliability. 

[Richard Bartrop]

6 minutes ago, Lizard Racing said:

It's kind of funny, the Bentley model which is best known is the least successful.  The unblown 4.5 or the Speed Six are the ones which dominated Le Mans.

The blower overstressed the engine into unreliability. 

I guess we just have a thing for magnificent failures.

[stavanzer]

What a Magnificent project! All emotion and no real practical use. I'm glad Bentley is doing this. A "Halo Car" for the Ultra-rich. And It will increase the chances of seeing a real Blower Bentley in the flesh, so to speak.

Ettore Bugatti is supposed to have dismissed them as "Thinly Disguised Trucks"

[The Junkman]

"If you have to ask the price.....etc, etc."

[stitchdup]

While this one isn't a blower, I had the pleasure of getting up close to this at the local show during the first weekend of august. The number of parents I had to tell to stop letting thier little brats climb over it was shocking. I bet they would all have gone nuts if i climbed over their cars

 

[charlie8575]

I would if I could.

Charlie Larkin

[stavanzer]

Cool, Mr Budge. Do you ever get to see "Babs"?

[stitchdup]

48 minutes ago, alexis said:

Cool, Mr Budge. Do you ever get to see "Babs"?

I'm at the other end of the country on an island. I did see her at a museum a lot of years ago though, and I think theres a vid on youtube of her doing the hill climb

[stavanzer]

Oh.  The Shetland Islands?  I've watched some great videos of Babs online.

 

Alan

[bbowser]

16 hours ago, stitchdup said:

While this one isn't a blower, I had the pleasure of getting up close to this at the local show during the first weekend of august. The number of parents I had to tell to stop letting thier little brats climb over it was shocking. I bet they would all have gone nuts if i climbed over their cars

 

That's just sad.  People have no clue and no respect.  That's a great looking car.

[stitchdup]

10 hours ago, alexis said:

Oh.  The Shetland Islands?  I've watched some great videos of Babs online.

 

Alan

Close, just below the shetlands, I'm on the orkney islands (the ones in scotland, not the south atlantic)

[stavanzer]

The Orkneys. How neat. My wife and I have always wanted ti visit there.

[Bugatti Fan]

Scapa  Flow is located in the Orkneys. Famous for the German fleet being scuttled there after WW1, and the battleship Royal Oak sunk there  by a UBoat during WW2 and lies there as a war grave. The Shetlands are another group of islands lying further North.

Edited September 15, 2019 by Bugatti Fan