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The renowned Bentley Blower returns to race again

Defining the Bentley Blower as a monumentally classic racing machine is a massive understatement. And now a modern example of the Blower — called Car Zero — has been built by hand, a copy of the 1929 4 1/2 -liter supercharged car, and it will race yet again. The indomitable Blower, so named for the Roots-type supercharger (built by Amherst Villiers) bolted in at the front of the magnesium crankcase, has been resurrected and will compete at the Circuit de la Sarthe  — translated: Le Mans — in June, as well as at Donington Park in England and at Spa in Belgium later this year. The car has already run a six-hour full-race-pace trial at the historic Goodwood track south of London to test its competition readiness. According to a history published in AutoEvolution, the original car was intolerably unreliable — it did not win any of the 12 races it entered – and was mightily inefficient. “At full steam, the Blower would burn four liters (1.1 gallons) of fuel every minute," the story said. "But its speed was the downright jaw-dropping act of the small, supercharged engine and the four-speed unsynchronized gearbox.” Several so-called Continuation Series Blowers have been commissioned and have been or will be built for sales to customers. All have already been already sold, with few modifications for modern safety, including a rain light and a fire extinguisher. Autoblog contributor Andrew English has driven the $2 million Car Zero, and it's a hell of a tale. A photo gallery of his exploits appears below. About three years ago, Bentley initiated the process of rebuilding the replica of the original Blower with a laser scan of all its parts. Engineers spent about 40,000 hours on the project, using original drawings and blueprints to create “high-fidelity copies” of the original parts. Nor was the interior ignored. Bentley used 22 pounds of horsehair to stuff the seats, the frame is made from ash, and the upholstery is red leather. ItÂ’s still, after all, a Bentley. Bentley Continuation View 13 Photos  

1931 Bentley 8 Litre is the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours Best of Show

A 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Gurney Nutting Sports Tourer took home the title of Best of Show at the 69th running of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It's probably the only time the owners will be okay with a bunch of tiny pieces of paper raining down on the immaculate open interior.  The 2019 Pebble Beach Concours took place on Sunday, August 18, 2019, and it capped a typical Monterey Car Week filled with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of automotive excellence. Some cars sold for eight digits, while others unexpectedly failed to meet reserve (even at eight digits).  The '31 Bentley had stiff competition for the top honor. The finalists for Best of Show included a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Cabriolet owned by Richard & Melanie Lundquist, a 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Erdmann & Rossi Special Cabriolet owned by The Keller Collection at the Pyramids, and a 1962 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato Coupe owned by David F. MacNeil.  The Bentley, which has custom coachwork from J. Gurney Nutting & Company Limited, is owned by The Honorable Sir Michael Kadoorie of Hong Kong. This is the first time a Bentley has won the Pebble Beach Best of Show since 1965, a fact that makes for a wild coincidence considering Bentley is celebrating its centenary this year, as well.  "The Centennial of Bentley may have played a role in this award, but the 8 Litre is the ultimate W. O. Bentley–era automobile," Kadoorie said, according to a press release. "This is the car that represents Bentley at its finest, and I have been very fortunate to have a car that has this elegance and finish, and that the Pebble Beach Concours feels is worthy." In other awards news, a 1938 Talbot-Lago T150C-SS Figoni & Falaschi Teardrop Cabriolet won Most Elegant Convertible, a 1950 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Ghia Supergioiello Coupe won Most Elegant Closed Car, a 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Brewster York Roadster won Most Elegant Open Car, and a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Zagato Berlinetta Speciale won Most Elegant Sports Car. The Pebble Beach Concours live streamed a good portion of the sunny festivities, and we've included it below. Scroll to about the 3:27 mark to see the best-of-show presentation that capped off the day.

Bentley plotting Mulsanne performance model for Paris debut

Between three distinct body styles and numerous engine specifications, Bentley has made more versions of the Continental over the years than we would care to count. But one thing it has, by and (very) large left alone is the Mulsanne. Sure, it's done some special editions and some extra equipment packages - it's even toyed with the idea of a two-door convertible version - but at the end of the day, the Mulsanne soldiers on as a four-door sedan with one engine and one engine alone. That may be about to change, however.
Fueled by ambiguous pronouncements from Bentley's returning chief Wolfgang Dürheimer, rumors from the UK suggest that the Flying B marque is preparing a more performance-focused version of the Mulsanne to debut at the Paris Motor Show this October.
Details are few and far between, but we'd expect the Mulsanne's long-serving 6.75-liter V8 engine to be further tuned beyond its current specification of 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque, accompanied by a stiffer suspension, bigger brakes and other upgrades. Historically Bentley would turbocharge the Mulsanne's predecessors (to turn the 90s-era Brooklands, for instance, into the Turbo R), but the Mulsanne's engine is already spooled up, so the British automaker will likely have to massage the extra muscle out another way.