Amalgam Bentley Blower“ - 1930 Le Mans - Birkin & Chassagne 1:18 - 1/18

Description

Amalgam Bentley Blower“ - 1930 Le Mans - Birkin & Chassagne 1:18

• As driven by Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin and Jean Chassagne at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on the Circuit de la Sarthe on 21 and 22 June 1930
• 1:18 scale model, over 24 cm/9 inches long
• Each model is built and assembled by hand by a small team of craftsmen
• Made from the highest quality materials
• Thousands of precisely manufactured parts: Castings, photo-etched parts and CNC-machined metal components
• Created using original CAD designs developed from a scan of an original car
• Original drawings, archive photos and material specifications from Bentley Motor

For many, the Bentley Blower is the iconic racing Bentley of the pre-war years. Ironically, the 4 ½ litre supercharged was the least successful of all Cricklewood Bentleys in competition - and founder W.O. Bentley bitterly opposed its development. By 1928, it was clear that the 4 ½-litre engine had reached the end of its development and that the competition was rapidly closing the gap on Bentley's racing supremacy. W.O. Bentley believed that the solution was simple: increase engine power. However, Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin, one of the Bentley Boys, favoured the supercharger alternative, which W.O. considered a „distortion of the engine design and a detriment to its performance“. Birkin persuaded Bentley chairman Woolf Barnato to overrule W.O. and approve the project. Only 55 of the 720 Bentley 4½ litres ever produced between 1927 and 1931 were Blower models, but this was still the minimum production quantity for competition racing. Sponsored by wealthy heiress, the Hon. Dorothy Paget, Birkin put together a racing team of four rebuilt „prototypes“ (three road cars for Le Mans and Blower No.1, his original) and assembled a fifth car from spare parts. Birkin's Blower-Bentleys arrived too late for Le Mans in 1929 and only two of the cars reached the starting line in 1930. Neither car reached the finish line, but it is widely believed that Dudley Benjafield and Birkin were privately involved in the relentless pursuit of the Bentley Blowers. Rudolf Caracciola's Mercedes SSK paved the way to victory for the Bentley works Speed Six team of Barnato and Glen Kidston. Nevertheless, many believe that the Blower's finest hour came at the 1930 French Grand Prix in Pau. Amidst a field of Bugatti Grand Prix cars, Birkin battled the huge Bentley to a heroic second place in what was almost certainly the heaviest car ever entered in a Grand Prix race at over two tonnes.

This model is a perfect replica of the Bentley 4½ Litre No. 9 that competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 21 and 22 June 1930. Driven by Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin and Jean Chassagne, the Bentley No. 9 was involved in a race epic duel with fellow Bentley Blower racers Dr Dudley Benjafield and Giulio Ramponi and the Mercedes-Benz SSK piloted by Rudolf Caracciola and Christian Werner. The SSK got off to a strong start in bright sunshine, but on the fourth lap Birkin was hot on Caracciola's heels in the Pontlieue bends. At a speed of 195 km/h, he overtook the Mercedes, which braked heavily before the Mulsanne bend. Birkin continued this manoeuvre and set a new lap record of 6:48 minutes, but on the next lap the tread came off a rear tyre and he had to pit. The wheel change took just half a minute, and in just five laps Birkin was right behind the Mercedes. Just as he overtook Caracciola again on the Mulsanne straight, the tread on the other tyre deteriorated. Despite having two wheels off the road, Birkin was able to complete the overtaking manoeuvre until the tyre burst at Arnage, forcing him to make another pit stop. By nightfall, Birkin/Chassagne's car was in seventh place after five separate tyre failures. However, the pressure the duo were putting on the Mercedes soon became apparent when the SSK retired at the halfway point with a flat battery after a cable on its dynamo came loose. The second half of the race turned into a routine procession, with early morning fog and a heavy downpour contributing to a gloomy race. Shortly before midday, four hours before the end of the race, a connecting rod broke in the Birkin/Chassagne Bentley and it had to retire. Victory went to the Bentley works team Speed Six consisting of Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston. Birkin's courage and fearless driving, in particular his selfless push to force Caracciola into submission, is considered to epitomise the true spirit of the vintage racing era and is widely regarded as the real reason why Bentley emerged victorious at Le Mans in 1930.

This scale model has been handcrafted and finished in our workshops with the co-operation and support of the manufacturer in terms of original finishes, materials, archive images and drawings. The use of original CAD and extremely accurate digital scanning of the original car has enabled us to perfectly reproduce every detail in scale. In addition, the prototype model was subjected to detailed scrutiny by the manufacturer's engineering and design teams to ensure complete accuracy of representation.

The Bentley Blower 1930 Le Mans is limited to just 199 units.
Item number: M5542-1