Bentley and Lotus at Le Mans: Twenty five Years apart<\/strong><\/p>\n Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n This article was simply prompted by the editors reading Posthumus “The British Competition Car” <\/em>and the comparison the author made with the 4.5 L “Blown” Bentley of the early 1930’s era and that of the Lotus 1500 c.c. twenty-five years on.<\/p>\n The stark contrast registered with us and we consider it appropriate to analyse the developments that occurred in the interval between. This focuses on aspects of military and civil aviation and their impact and indeed adoption in automobiles.<\/p>\n There is a generation and cultural gap between these two significant British marques that allows an entertaining set of comparisons.In this study we also briefly examine brand and continuity.<\/p>\n We have dwelt on Lotus at Le Mans in some depth and will not repeat observations\/analysis but subscribers may find the background and detailed information useful in this context.<\/p>\n Subscribers might like to see the directly relevant and integrated A&R pieces that complement and help structure this article:-<\/p>\n Bentley: Brief details<\/strong><\/p>\n Robson:-<\/p>\n “Bentley is one of those charismatic marques that has produced throughout its long and turbulent history, some of the most famous cars of the time. Founded in 1919 on high hopes but scant capital the marque delivered a wealth of cars \u2026……..controlled since 1998 by the German automotive giant VW, Bentley is today associated with entirely new breed of supercars such as the Arnage, Azure, Brooklands coupe and Continental Speed models \u2026………………….”<\/p>\n Stanford writing in the 1950’s commented:-<\/p>\n “Bentley’s aim had always been to introduce high performance cars into the luxuary class .In 1925 a substantial amount of financial backing was found for his firm by Woolf Barnato , the diamond millionaire , a much intensified competition career was undertaken with satisfactory results , the range of Bentley cars expanded considerably …………as time went on , the superiority of the 3 litre began to diminish and in 1927 it was virtually replaced by the 4.5 litre \u2026………….maximum speed was some 85 mph in touring trim and in 1929 \u2026…………its massive construction ,reliability and good all round handling the 4.5 Bentley dominated the British high-performance market in the late 1920’s even though equivalent performance could be had from very much handier cars of smaller capacity \u2026……………….<\/em><\/p>\n During 1929 experimental work on the supercharged cars was carried out and in 1930 they became catalogued .A Roots blower was fitted between the front dumb irons and drew from two large SU carburettors which inhabited this somewhat vulnerable spot \u2026………driven direct from the nose of the crankshaft , the blower delivered mixture at ten pounds pressure ………….as well as completely reliable \u2026……apart from a tendency for the engine to boil at low speeds , due to considerable reduction of cooling are , the sole fault was a staggering fuel consumption , about 10mpg against the standard cars 16mpg………..on the other hand it in no respect impaired the flexibility and smoothness of the engine and produced a maximum of just about 100mph despite a weight of nearly two tons . The “Blower 405″ was the last big four \u2013cylinder car to be made anywhere in the world, and about 50 were sold …………..”<\/p>\n “Bentley Motors was founded by W.O. Bentley. The first car to bear his name pulled out of New Street Mews, London in 1919.<\/p>\n From modest beginnings, the company moved from strength to strength \u2013 in a relentless pursuit of both luxury and performance. Were it not for the brand\u2019s five victories at Le Mans in the 1920s, plus a sixth in 2003, this combination could be seen as a contradiction in terms. In which case, it could be said that Bentley continues to create the most acclaimed contradictions on the road today.<\/p>\n Almost a century later, W.O.’s vision continues to guide our beliefs, actions and ambitions. Located in Crewe, England and owned by Volkswagen AG since 1998, Bentley Motors remains the definitive British luxury car company, crafting the world\u2019s most desirable high performance grand tourers.”<\/p>\n\n
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The Fulda coup\u00e9 with self-supporting bodywork and two-tone finish featured a long, downward-sloping rear end. Seen from above, the silhouette was a rectangle with rounded corners. Like the under-floor, the rear wheel arches were completely covered, and even the door handles were partly recessed.<\/p>\n![\"Fulfa-Mobil021\"](\"http:\/\/colinchapmanmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/fulfa-mobil021.jpeg\")
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To give the car a top speed of over 200 km\/h, as demanded by Fulda, the engineers installed a powerful six-cylinder engine with 140 hp (103 kW). The top speed was equally made possible by an unusually low drag coefficient of cd = 0.25 (as opposed to 0.6 customary for contemporary series-production cars). Another pre-condition was that the chassis was not to weigh more than 1.6 tons.<\/p>\n![\"sw38-ds04\"](\"http:\/\/colinchapmanmuseum.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/sw38-ds04.jpeg\")
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However, the car was used to a very limited extent due to the outbreak of the Second World War. It disappeared in the turmoil of war and it had been missing since then. In 2005 Fulda asked Maybach again to produce a unique car to test their tires. I was named Maybach Exelero.<\/p>\n