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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  

The Windsor Castle Concours d'Elegance in pictures, courtesy of Bentley

Bentley went to the Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance as the main sponsor and showed off six of its best among the gathering of "60 of the finest motor cars in the world," including the 4¼-liter Bentley 'Embiricos' Special built for a Greek shipping magnate and gentleman racer in the 1930s.
Even better, for us at least, is that when Bentley decided to capture the moment it took pictures of most of the metal on the lawn, not just the Bentleys. Thanks to that, we have a high-res gallery that's home to rarities like the Vauxhall 30-98 Type OE Boattail Wensum Tourer, beauties like the Bugatti Type 57S Atalante, long-tail Ford GT40, Maserati Tipo 60 Birdcage, Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, a sinister Ferrari 250 GTO and the even more sinister Rolls-Royce Phantom Aerodynamic Coupe, among others. All you need to do now is click and enjoy.

Bentley Continental GT S Bathurst editions celebrate 12-hour race

Bentley's Mulliner custom and coachbuilt department has been busy with 500 customer cars in the past year. Its two latest creations, though, are for Bentley Sydney in Australia, and they're themed around Bentley's GT3 race cars and the Bathurst 12 Hours endurance race. The pair aren't any faster, as the only powertrain upgrade is the addition of the Bentley sport exhaust, but they sure are greener. Literally. Each car started as a regular Bentley Continental GT S with the twin-turbo V8. The choice of the V8 model is fitting as the GT3 car uses a V8, as per class regulations. The first of the two is the most striking in Apple Green to match the GT3 racer that won the 2020 Bathurst 12 Hours. It also picks up black stripes and a black roof and tail section to further connect the two cars. At the front, the number seven is painted in the grille, another tribute to the race car. The second car has basically the same color scheme, but it's painted in Silver Tempest to match the first GT3 cars for this generation of Continental GT. Inside, the Bathurst cars have black leather and faux suede, and the Apple Green accents around the gauges, in the stitching and on the shifter look like they glow. There are also depictions of the Bathurst track layout, the GT3 race car, and commemorative plates numbering the cars. Plus, Bentley will include 1:18 scale models of the 2020 winning race car. No pricing was given. But obviously they'll likely cost more than a standard Continental GT. And the two cars are being sold in Australia where the Bathurst track, Mount Panorama, is located. Related video: