Celebrated Cars
The Bentley 3.0 Litre
By zteve t evans
The Bentley 3.0 litre was introduced at the 1919 London Auto Show by Bentley Motors Limited. Its owner, Walter Owen Bentley was already a familiar figure in the world of the motorcar but this model was to win him worldwide prestige and recognition for their racing successes at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.
Le Mans 24 Hour Race
On the racing scene of the time Bugatti had dominated the tracks. The Bentley was bigger and heavier than the Bugatti cars but had the power and innovation in its technology to compensate for the extra burden. In 1924, John Duff and Frank Clement driving a Bentley 3.0 litre that weighed 4,000 pounds won the 24 Hours Le Mans Race. In 1927, S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis and Dudley Benjafield in a Super Sports variant again won the 24 Hours Le Mans for Bentley, prompting Ettore Bugatti owner of rivals Bugatti to dub it "the fastest lorry in the world." Between 1924 and 1930 Bentley won the Le Mans race five times and in the eyes of many people was the ultimate British sports on a par with Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza. The Bentley 3.0 litre was delivered to customers as a running chassis and referred to Vanden Plas to fit the body. Although most were tourers a degree of variety with their custom coachwork was inevitable.
Technical Innovations
Bentley made a number of technical innovations with the 3.0 litre. It became one of the first production cars to be given an engine with an overhead camshaft and 4 valves per cylinder. Clive Gallop an ex-Royal Flying Corps engineer designed the bevel- geared shaft drive for the camshaft. With a four speed gear box and engine with two spark plugs per cylinder, twin carburettors and pent proof combustion chambers, the Bentley 3.0 litre was among the leaders of the field. It could achieve an output of around 70 hp and power it to 80 mph. The Speed Model could achieve 90 mph and the Super Sports could achieve speeds over 100 mph. Until 1924 only the rear wheels had brakes but in that year four wheel brakes were fitted.
Variants of the Bentley 3.0 Litre
The Bentley 3.0 litre had three main variants usually known by the colour of the radiator badge which was usually red blue, or green and known as Blue label, Red label, or Green label. It was not a set rule as the company would provide any colour badge the customer asked for.
Bentley Return to Motorsport
At it peak the Bentley Motors Limited could build cars that won prestige and respect in the racing world to match the best in the world but as markets changed and Rolls Royce took over Bentley in 1931 and was later acquired by Volkswagen in 1998. Bentley have always been associated with excellent motor cars and that association continues and once again they are blazing their name in motorsport.
© 15/04/2014 zteve t evans
On the racing scene of the time Bugatti had dominated the tracks. The Bentley was bigger and heavier than the Bugatti cars but had the power and innovation in its technology to compensate for the extra burden. In 1924, John Duff and Frank Clement driving a Bentley 3.0 litre that weighed 4,000 pounds won the 24 Hours Le Mans Race. In 1927, S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis and Dudley Benjafield in a Super Sports variant again won the 24 Hours Le Mans for Bentley, prompting Ettore Bugatti owner of rivals Bugatti to dub it "the fastest lorry in the world." Between 1924 and 1930 Bentley won the Le Mans race five times and in the eyes of many people was the ultimate British sports on a par with Bugatti and Hispano-Suiza. The Bentley 3.0 litre was delivered to customers as a running chassis and referred to Vanden Plas to fit the body. Although most were tourers a degree of variety with their custom coachwork was inevitable.
Technical Innovations
Bentley made a number of technical innovations with the 3.0 litre. It became one of the first production cars to be given an engine with an overhead camshaft and 4 valves per cylinder. Clive Gallop an ex-Royal Flying Corps engineer designed the bevel- geared shaft drive for the camshaft. With a four speed gear box and engine with two spark plugs per cylinder, twin carburettors and pent proof combustion chambers, the Bentley 3.0 litre was among the leaders of the field. It could achieve an output of around 70 hp and power it to 80 mph. The Speed Model could achieve 90 mph and the Super Sports could achieve speeds over 100 mph. Until 1924 only the rear wheels had brakes but in that year four wheel brakes were fitted.
Variants of the Bentley 3.0 Litre
The Bentley 3.0 litre had three main variants usually known by the colour of the radiator badge which was usually red blue, or green and known as Blue label, Red label, or Green label. It was not a set rule as the company would provide any colour badge the customer asked for.
Bentley Return to Motorsport
At it peak the Bentley Motors Limited could build cars that won prestige and respect in the racing world to match the best in the world but as markets changed and Rolls Royce took over Bentley in 1931 and was later acquired by Volkswagen in 1998. Bentley have always been associated with excellent motor cars and that association continues and once again they are blazing their name in motorsport.
© 15/04/2014 zteve t evans
References and Attributions
Copyright 15/04/2014 zteve t evans
Copyright 15/04/2014 zteve t evans
- File:1924 Bentley 3-litre Sports Tourer by Park Ward.jpg From Wikimedia Commons - 1924 Bentley 3-litre Sports Tourer by Park Ward - Author: Mr.choppers - Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
- Bentley 3 Litre from Wikipedia
- Fantasy Junction
- Bentley Motors - Le Mans