1925 Bentley 3 Litre 'Speed Model' Red Label Tourer

Description

Revered by collectors the world over, the Bentleys built between 1919 and 1931 have gone down in history as some of the most important and valuable motor cars ever made. It was a period when Walter Owen Bentley's eponymous automobiles ruled the open road and came to dominate the French endurance classic held annually in the town of Le Mans. The earliest model to wear the famous winged radiator badge first appeared in prototype form at the Olympia Motor Show in 1919. Powered by a four-cylinder engine with a bore and stroke of 80mm by 149mm and a single overhead camshaft, the 3-litre was a technical marvel, boasting four valves per cylinder and an output estimated to be around 70 horsepower at 3500rpm. Production began at Cricklewood in 1921, with early cars built on a 9' 9.5in two-wheel braked chassis before the Standard Long chassis of 10' 10in was adopted in 1923, the shorter chassis reserved thereafter for the so-called 'Red Label' Speed Model. In 1924 Bentley adopted Perrot-type brakes on all four wheels and many customers took the opportunity to update their two-wheel braked cars at additional cost. The original Smiths carburettor was later replaced with a later 45BVS type, and a Claudel-Hobson item became optional, while Speed models employed twin SUs. Bentley Motors guaranteed 75 mph was possible on the longer chassis model, with speeds increasing to 80 mph for the short and 90 mph on the Speed model, although the weight of the coachwork necessarily influenced an individual car's performance. In addition to the success enjoyed at Le Mans, which the 3-litre claimed in 1924 and again in 1927, the model also finished second in the 1922 Tourist Trophy held on the Isle of Man, a fine record for what was essentially a production road car. Most 3-litres wore bodywork by Vanden Plas although the finest coachbuilders of the day, including the likes of Gurney Nutting, Freestone & Webb, Park Ward, and H J Mulliner, all contributed to the wonderful variety of bodywork that graced the 3-litre chassis. These ranged in style from simple open tourers to elaborate coupé de villes. It remains one of the finest, not to mention collectible, sporting cars of the era.