Bentley history takes center stage at Pebble Beach

Bentley’s blend of aristocratic cars and pure speed will take center stage at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance as the storied British luxury carmaker marks its 90th anniversary.

And it will celebrate in style at the Northern California concours, with four classes of Bentleys set on the 18th fairway of Pebble Beach.

Sure to be a favorite is the field of legendary Bentley racers, going all the way back to its first LeMans entry in 1923. Known as Chassis 141, this car set the race’s inaugural lap record and took a respectable fourth-place finish with company founder W. O. Bentley on hand. It fell into obscurity in a small English village, but is now restored and will travel from Australia for the concours.

This car was the pacesetter for the British marque’s emerging prowess in competition, and Bentley won LeMans in 1924. It followed this up with four straight victories from 1927 to 1930.

The wheelman for the last three of those wins–also then-Chairman Woolf “Babe” Barnato, will be represented by a car he drove across the United States on his honeymoon, a freshly restored 8-liter Van den Plas Tourer. Barnato was one of the “Bentley Boys” from that time period, who shaped the growth of the company and its race cars.

Another Bentley legend, Tim Birkin, who developed superchargers for the racers in the late ’20s, will have a presence at Pebble Beach with four of the cars he influenced on display. Fitted with superchargers, they were dubbed the Birkin Blowers, and his personal racer–a

4.5-liter that ran at LeMans three times (and, ironically, is not supercharged)–also will be at the concours.

The event also will feature two classes of vintage cars built between 1921 and 1931. One will have 6.5-liter machines including the “Big Sixes” and “Speed Sixes.” The other is 8-liter Bentleys.

A class of Derby Bentleys–cars assembled in Derby, England, when the company was owned by Rolls-Royce–will be on display and are known for their coachwork.

Bentley will share the spotlight at Pebble Beach with Audi, Bugatti and Morgan, which are the other featured marques. The coachwork of Zagato also will be recognized.

via: autoweek