\n- 4\u00bd Litre: 1,625\u00a0kg (3,583<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/p>\n
Figure 1.Editors sketch of Bentley<\/p>\n
\n\n\nMarque<\/td>\n | Bentley 4.5 -litre<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nModel<\/td>\n | “Blower”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nYears<\/td>\n | 1929-31<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nEngine<\/td>\n | in line 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nb\/s<\/td>\n | 100x140mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\ncapacity<\/td>\n | 4,398cc<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nvalves<\/td>\n | 4 per cylinder, single ohc<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\ncomp ratio<\/td>\n | 4.5 , 5.1 or 5.3 to 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\ncarburettors<\/td>\n | 2 SU and Villiers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nsupercharger<\/td>\n | 10psi max boost<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\npower<\/td>\n | 182 bhp at 3,900 rpm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\ntransmission<\/td>\n | 4 speed manual<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nsuspension: Front<\/td>\n | beam axle half elliptical leaf springs ,friction type dampers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nRear<\/td>\n | [live] beam ditto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nsteering<\/td>\n | worm and wheel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nbrakes<\/td>\n | mechanical front \/rear no servo<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nwheels<\/td>\n | centre lock wire 33×6.00 cross ply tyres<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nchassis\/body<\/td>\n | separate ladder type ,steel chassis coach built open tourer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n<\/td>\n | sports or closed bodies by specialists ,wooden frame<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n<\/td>\n | aluminium steel or fabric covering<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nlength<\/td>\n | 14 ft. 7inch<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nwidth<\/td>\n | 5ft-8in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nwheelbase<\/td>\n | 10-10.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\ntrack f\/r<\/td>\n | 4-8 \/4-8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nweight [typical]<\/td>\n | 3,808 lb<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nmax.speed<\/td>\n | 100mph<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nfuel consumption<\/td>\n | 11-13mpg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nprice new 1929<\/td>\n | chassis \u00a31,150<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\ncoachwork<\/td>\n | typical \u00a31,500<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\nproduction<\/td>\n | 55 including 5 Birkin race cars]<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Bentley at the 24 Hours of Le Mans \u2013from wiki:-<\/strong><\/p>\n“The 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race is a 24-hour race around the Circuit de la Sarthe<\/a>. The inaugural race was held 26\u201327 May 1923, and attracted many drivers, mostly French.[3]<\/sup><\/a> There were two foreign competitors in the first race, Frank Clement<\/a> and Canadian John Duff<\/a>, the latter winning the 1924 competition in his personal car, a Bentley 3 Litre.<\/p>\n“Made with precision and the finest material,”[4]<\/sup><\/a> and with recent success, the luxurious Bentley cars attracted attention. After two years without success, Bentley convened a group of wealthy British men, “united by their love of insouciance, elegant tailoring, and a need for speed,” to renew Bentley’s success.[5]<\/sup><\/a> Both drivers and mechanics, these men, later nicknamed the “Bentley Boys<\/a>“, drove Bentley automobiles to victory in several races between 1927 and 1931, including four consecutive wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and forged the brand’s reputation.[4] <\/sup><\/a>[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\nIt was within this context that, in 1927, Bentley developed the Bentley 4\u00bd Litre. Two cylinders were removed from the 6\u00bd Litre model, reducing the displacement to 4.4 litres.[6]<\/sup><\/a> At the time, the 3 Litre and the 6\u00bd Litre were already available, but the 3 Litre was an outdated, under-powered model and the 6\u00bd Litre’s image was tarnished by poor tyre performance.[4] <\/sup><\/a>[7] <\/sup><\/a>[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\nThe essential difference between the Bentley 4\u00bd Litre and the Blower was the addition of a Roots-type supercharger<\/a> to the Blower engine by engineer Amherst Villiers<\/a>, who had also produced the supercharger. W. O. Bentley, as chief engineer of the company he had founded, refused to allow the engine to be modified to incorporate the supercharger. As a result, the supercharger was placed at the end of the crankshaft, in front of the radiator. This gave the Blower Bentley an easily recognisable appearance and also increased the car’s understeer<\/a> due to the additional weight at the front.[16]<\/sup><\/a> A guard protected the two carburetters located at the compressor intake. Similar protection was used, both in the 4\u00bd Litre and the Blower, for the fuel tank at the rear, because a flying stone punctured the 3 Litre of Frank Clement and John Duff during the first 24 Hours of Le Mans, which contributed to their defeat.[20] <\/sup><\/a>[21]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\nThe crankshaft, pistons and lubrication system were special to the Blower engine.[10]<\/sup><\/a> It produced 175\u00a0hp (130\u00a0kW) at 3,500 rpm for the touring model [22]<\/sup><\/a> and 240\u00a0hp (180\u00a0kW) at 4,200 rpm for the racing version, which was more power than the Bentley 6\u00bd Litre developed”<\/p>\nZumbrunn:-<\/p>\n \u201cit was a car that singularly failed to live up to expectations, and you could argue that the esteem in which the \u201cBlower\u201d Bentley \u2026\u2026\u2026.is still held is out of all proportion to its true worth. But that would be to miss the point entirely.<\/p>\n While it was never very successful in motor racing, to legions of worshippers this particular strain of Bentley is a symbol of a lost empire, one where fact and legend merge\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n Ultimately, the four-cylinder leviathan proved devastatingly quick-it held lap record at Brooklands for two years-but rarely lasted the distance\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n The \u201cBlower \u201cBentley was the last of a dying breed: a proper completion car rather than a conveyance for plutocrats. The winged \u2013B mascot has never sat on anything quite like it since\u201d<\/p>\n Bentley, Blowers Birkin, \u201cBentley Boys” and Brooklands<\/strong><\/p>\nRobson:-<\/p>\n ” Although a vintage Bentley might look high , heavy and old fashioned by today\u2019s standards we must never forget that in 1920’s it was always one of the fastest and most effective sports cars in the world . In that period Bentleys particularly works Bentleys \u2013 built up a formidable record in sports car motor racing \u2026………five outright victories in eight years in the famous Le Mans \u2026………………”<\/p>\n Nye:-<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1928 Barnato and Rubin drove a “four and a half\u201d to victory at Le Mans to underline Bentley’ grip on this trial of endurance and speed.<\/p>\n Meanwhile Sir Henry “Tim \u201cBirkin decided that to achieve optimum performance from WO’s design, supercharging should be adopted .the original designer never approved \u2026………….always following the dictum that “there is no substitute for cubic inches” \u2026…….the hon.Dorothy Paget financed Birkin’s plan \u2026….and the cars were modified in her premises at Welyn…………..developed a staggering 240bhp at 4200 rpm but proved unreliable and incapable of translating the power to race victories .the supercharger operated well at consistently high speed such as those achieved on the Brooklands Outer Circuit banking ,and there Birkin very special single seater version excelled. A total of 54 “Blower” Bentleys was built, the vast majority for sale as road cars\u201d<\/p>\n Originally belonging to Sir Henry ‘Tim Birkin, one of the original ‘Bentley Boys’ who enjoyed huge success at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the late 1920s and 1930s, the 1929 supercharged ‘blower’ single-seater’s final hammer price in the Bonhams auction was \u00a35,042,000.<\/p>\n Talking about the car that once set a new speed record of 137mph at the old Brooklands circuit in Surrey, Doug Nye, historian at Bonhams, said: \u201cIt is wonderful to see this iconic car\u2019s true value recognised by the world market.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Birkin single-seater Bentley was, in effect, the Concorde of its time, the fastest car around the high Brooklands bankings. It was driven by a great British hero in Sir Henry Birkin and was the most glamorous racing car of the era.\u201d<\/p>\n Aerodynamics and Fascist economics <\/strong><\/p>\nInter war Aviation <\/strong><\/p>\nThe First World War gave a tremendous boost to aircraft development with regard to handling and performance. Typical forms of the era were the biplane \u2013 2 wing arrangement, with bracing struts and wires. However, the considerable frontal area caused drag. From the net :-<\/p>\n “In the two decades between the end of World War I<\/a> and the start of World War II<\/a>, military aviation underwent a complete transformation. The typical combat aircraft of 1918 was a fabric-covered externally braced biplane<\/a> with fixed landing gear and open cockpits. Few aero engines developed as much as 250 horsepower, and top speeds of 200 km (120 miles) per hour were exceptional. By 1939 the first-line combat aircraft of the major powers were all-metal monoplanes with retractable landing gear. Powered by engines that developed 1,000 horsepower or more and that were supercharged to permit flight at altitudes above 9,000 metres (30,000 feet), fighters<\/a> were capable of exceeding 560 km (350 miles) per hour, and some bombers<\/a> flew faster than 400 km (250 miles) per hour. Gyroscopically driven<\/a> flight instruments and electrical cockpit lighting permitted flying at night and in adverse weather. Crews were seated in enclosed cockpits, were provided with oxygen for breathing at high altitudes, and could converse with other aircraft and ground stations by voice radio. Parachutes<\/a>, worn by a few German fighter pilots in the last days of World War I, were standard equipment.<\/p>\n |