1929 Bentley 4½-Litre Supercharged 'Blower' Le Mans Tourer
- Engine
- Supercharged 4.5L inline-four
Chassis DS3573 began as a heavy-chassis 4½-Litre Bentley with an H.J. Mulliner saloon body, completed at the factory in August 1929. Subsequently converted to a supercharged Le Mans Tourer configuration by a 1990s owner, the car passed through a colourful succession of twelve or more recorded custodians before becoming one of the most active pre-war Bentleys in historic competition. It holds the distinction of being the first supercharged Bentley to win an international race meeting, taking victory in the 2019 Goodwood Revival Brooklands Trophy, and has been driven at Le Mans on at least eight occasions.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold £815,000 (≈ $1.02M)
- 1931-07-01 →Acquisition unknownSir Leonard Lylefull documentation
Chairman of Tate and Lyle; first registered owner of the vehicle. Detailed ownership records are held on file.
- 1954 →Acquisition unknownJohn Hyrne Tucker Wilsonpartial documentation
Sixth owner; Cambridge rowing champion and Olympic gold medallist who later served in the Sudan Political Service.
- 1955 →Acquisition unknownRobin Coombspartial documentation
Eighth owner; wartime RAF pilot who survived a forced landing in Greece in 1941.
- 1965 →Acquisition unknownHugh Swain and Annabelle Swainpartial documentation
Twelfth owners; Annabelle's father was John Bolster, Technical Editor of The Autocar.
- 1990 →Acquisition unknownGraham Jonespartial documentation
Had the car rebuilt with a supercharger, a D-type gearbox, and an Arley-constructed Le Mans Tourer coachwork fitted to the original chassis.
- 2006 →Acquisition unknownCurrent ownerfull documentation
Realised a long-held goal of owning a supercharged Bentley; ran the car extensively on road and circuit across Europe, entering over 100 races including eight Le Mans appearances.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownUnidentified later ownerpartial documentation
Brought the car to concours-level finish following the rebuild carried out under the previous owner.
Competition
- 2012Goodwood RevivalDriver: Derek Bell
Five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell drove the car at the 2012 event.
- 2014Benjafields Racing Club event
Car took part in a Benjafields Racing Club gathering, described informally as cutting up the stubble.
- 2019Goodwood Revival2019 Goodwood Revival Brooklands Trophy1st — first supercharged Bentley to win an international race meeting
Historic victory claimed in the Brooklands Trophy race, marking the first international race win for a supercharged Bentley.
- —Le Mans 24 Hours
Car has taken part at Le Mans on at least eight separate occasions under the current owner's tenure.
- —Goodwood Revival
Invited and raced at the Goodwood Revival on multiple occasions prior to 2012.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1990Restoration
Major rebuild carried out under owner Graham Jones: a supercharger was fitted, a D-type gearbox installed, and an Arley-built Le Mans Tourer open body was mounted on the original chassis.
Work transformed the car from its original closed saloon configuration into a supercharged open tourer.
- —Restoration
A subsequent owner completed the car to concours standard following the earlier rebuild.
Carried out prior to the current owner acquiring the car in 2006.
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