Yesterday we posted our coverage of the magnificent new Bentley Flying Spur, which we rather liked.
Today we head back in time a wee bit to (almost) the beginnings of Bentley.
The Flying Spur launch was held at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell and, as they only had two Flying Spurs available for road drives, Bentley also made a selection of V8 and W12 Continental coupes and convertibles available for the assembled press to have a bit of fun in on the track while we waited for our turn in the Flying Spur.
Also at the track was a thoroughly gorgeous 1926 Bentley 3-litre Speed.
Introduced in 1919 the 3-litre was Bentley’s first car. In terms of racing the 3-litre was a very large car in comparison with the tiny, lightweight Bugattis that were dominating the sport at the time, but its innovative technology and strength made up for its weight.
The 1800kg car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, with drivers John Duff and Frank Clement, and again in 1927, this time in Super Sports form, with drivers S. C. H. “Sammy” Davis and Dudley Benjafield. Its weight, size, and sheer speed prompted Ettore Bugatti to call it “the fastest lorry in the world.”
The 2,996 cc inline four-cylinder engine was also large for its day (and thoroughly massive today!), but it was on the cutting edge as far as technical innovations were concerned. The engine was one of the first production car engines with 4 valves per cylinder and an overhead camshaft, and it was also among the first with two spark plugs per cylinder, pent-roof combustion chambers and twin carburettors. It was extremely undersquare, optimised for low-end torque, with a bore of 80mm and a stroke of 149mm. To increase durability, the iron engine block and cylinder head were cast as a single unit.
Power output for the standard engine was roughly 52kW, allowing the 3-litre to reach 129km/h. The Speed Model could reach 145km/h, while the Super Sports could exceed 100 mph (161km/h).
Admittedly we didn’t exactly see those speeds from the passenger’s seat of the old girl around Highlands, but the huge, lazy torque was evident as it sat in third gear for most of the time and hit around 100km/h on the straight bits.
With all due respect and love to the Flying Spur and the Continental, a few flying laps in the passenger’s seat of the 3-litre was easily the highlight of the day, so sit back and enjoy the above video of a lap of Highlands in a 1926 Bentley 3-litre Speed! Also, below, is a small vid of the Continental blitzing past the gracious 3-litre…
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