Bentley 4½ Litre
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The Bentley 4½ Litre is a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors.[1] Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to 4.4 litres (270 cubic inches). A racing variant was known as the Blower Bentley.
Bentley 4½ Litre | |
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Overview | |
Manufacturer | Bentley Motors Limited |
Production |
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Assembly | Cricklewood, UK |
Designer | Walter Owen Bentley |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Sports car chassis |
Body style | as arranged with coachbuilder by customer[1] |
Layout | FR layout |
Related | Blower Bentley (supercharged model) |
Powertrain | |
Engine |
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Transmission | 4-speed manual |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | |
Length | 4,380 mm (172.4 in) |
Width | 1,740 mm (68.5 in) |
Kerb weight |
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Chronology | |
Predecessor | Bentley 3 Litre |
Successor | Bentley 6.5 Litre |
Bentley buyers used their cars for personal transport and arranged for their new chassis to be fitted with various body styles, mostly saloons or tourers.[1] However, the publicity brought by their competition programme was invaluable for marketing Bentley's cars.[citation needed]
At the time, noted car manufacturers such as Bugatti and Lorraine-Dietrich focused on designing cars to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a popular automotive endurance course established only a few years earlier. A victory in this competition quickly elevated any car maker's reputation.
A total of 720 4½ Litre cars were produced between 1927 and 1931, including 55 cars with a supercharged engine popularly known as the Blower Bentley. A 4½ Litre Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1928. Though the supercharged 4½ Litre Bentley's competitive performance was not outstanding, it set several speed records, most famously the Bentley Blower No.1 Monoposto in 1932 at Brooklands with a recorded speed of 222.03 km/h (138 mph).