Bentley 3-Litre Speed model, year 1924. Chassis number 742, engine number 764. Colour dark blue with black wire wheels combined with a red leather interior trimmed with red wool carpet. Black hood, hood cover and tonneau cover. This original Bentley 3-Litre ‘red badge’ short chassis Speed model was sold new in the United Kingdom fitted with a ‘Park Ward’ body. In later years the car was given the current 4-seater open tourer bodywork. The automobile was extensively restored and overhauled by a Bentley specialist with eye for originality. The engine, and all the mechanical parts were completely overhauled. All the important chassis and mechanical parts are factory original, the numbers on the chassis, engine, gearbox, steering gear, and rear axle are correct for this car as it left the factory in 1924! The car shows many wonderful original details like the remarkable Sloper carburettors and the Bentley marked dashboard instruments. The full history is known and documented, and a photo report of the extensive restoration is present. This Bentley 3-Litre Speed model is mentioned in the book ‘Bentley The Vintage Years’, a standard work on Bentley by Clare Hay. This glorious Bentley 3-Litre is in a wonderful and very good condition. The automobile breathes the quality W.O. Bentley had envisaged when he created his ‘3-Litre’; ‘A fast car, a good car, the best in its class’. The 3-Litre featured one of the first production car engines with 4 valves per cylinder, dry-sump lubrication, and an overhead camshaft. The first 3-Litre chassis was shown at the 1919 London (Olympia) Motor Show, with the first customer delivery in 1921. Between the show and 1921 much work was needed to improve refinement. As W.O. later wrote, “I hate noise for the sake of noise. 70mph in silence is far more creditable than a noisy 80mph.” The 3-Litre was very well received by the motoring press. Sammy Davis of the Autocar wrote: “For the man who wants a true sporting type of light-bodied car for use on a Continental tour – where speed limits are not meant to be observed – the 3 Litre Bentley is undoubtedly the car par excellence.” From the beginning the rugged and powerful 3-Litre was entered in competitions and races. The 3-Litre won countless races, amongst others the legendary 24 Hours of Le mans in 1924 and 1927. A private owner (John Duff) also set 21 world records in 24 hours in 1925 at the wheel of a Bentley 3-Litre. A total of 1622 Bentley 3-Litre models were produced between 1921 and 1929. This Bentley 3-Litre model is a splendid product of this adventurous early Bentley Motors period. A wonderful collector’s item and a dream machine for vintage Bentley drivers and Bentley enthusiasts.
