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This year's Mille Miglia race in Italy will feature two unique 4½ litre Supercharged “Blowers”; a 1930 Le Mans race car belonging to perhaps the most famous and daring of the Bentley Boys, and a company demonstrator that is still going strong even after nine decades on the road.
“This is a fantastic car to drive and remains extremely rapid as well. We take great pride in making sure all the cars Bentley owns continue to regularly compete or run and are not museum exhibits, which is very much the Bentley way, and we are all looking forward to the unique Mille Miglia experience,” said Richard Charlesworth, Bentley's Director of Royal and VIP Relations.
The car is arguably best known for its epic duel with a 7 litre ‘Kompressor' Mercedes at Le Mans in 1930, with Tim Birkin putting his off-side wheels on the grass as he completed a typically daring pass of Rudolf Caracciola at nearly 200 km/h. While Birkin's day ended after 82 laps, he is largely credited with assisting his fellow Bentley Boys Woolf Barnato and Glenn Kidston to win the race in their Bentley Speed Six.
The second Bentley Blower to take on the Mille Miglia was completed in 1930 and is fitted with a beautiful Vanden Plas Open, Sports Four Seater body. It was owned by Bentley Motors as a customer demonstrator car before passing into private ownership. Since 1997, the car continues to turn heads at Bentley customer events across the world.
“This is a fantastic car to drive and remains extremely rapid as well. We take great pride in making sure all the cars Bentley owns continue to regularly compete or run and are not museum exhibits, which is very much the Bentley way, and we are all looking forward to the unique Mille Miglia experience,” said Richard Charlesworth, Bentley's Director of Royal and VIP Relations.
The car is arguably best known for its epic duel with a 7 litre ‘Kompressor' Mercedes at Le Mans in 1930, with Tim Birkin putting his off-side wheels on the grass as he completed a typically daring pass of Rudolf Caracciola at nearly 200 km/h. While Birkin's day ended after 82 laps, he is largely credited with assisting his fellow Bentley Boys Woolf Barnato and Glenn Kidston to win the race in their Bentley Speed Six.
The second Bentley Blower to take on the Mille Miglia was completed in 1930 and is fitted with a beautiful Vanden Plas Open, Sports Four Seater body. It was owned by Bentley Motors as a customer demonstrator car before passing into private ownership. Since 1997, the car continues to turn heads at Bentley customer events across the world.
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| Photo: Bentley |