In June of 2012, the 1929 Bentley 4 1/2 Liter supercharged single-seater – once piloted by Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin to a Brooklands Outer Loop record-breaking speed of more than 137 MPH – sold for 5,042,000 British pounds ($7,907,530) at Bonhams’s Goodwood auction. The price set a new record for the most expensive English car ever sold at auction, and little is known about its anonymous buyer except for this: He or she is not a resident of the United Kingdom. Now that latter fact has led the United Kingdom to block the car from leaving the country.

Britain’s Arts Council earlier this month enacted a temporary export ban on the Bentley, citing what’s known as the “Waverley criteria,” guidelines established in 1952 to make the case for keeping British art and artifacts within the country. These guidelines cover three very specific areas of concern for British historians and museum curators:

1) History: Is the object so closely connected with our history and national life that its departure would be a misfortune?
2) Aesthetics: Is it of outstanding aesthetic importance?
3) Scholarship: Is it of outstanding significance for the study of some particular branch of art, learning or history?

The vast majority of exports blocked by the Reviewing Committee are artifacts commonly found in art museums, not car collections. On the current docket are nine items, including four paintings (or other works of art), a tapestry, a ring that once belonged to Jane Austen, a collection of letters, a collection of photos and the 1929 Bentley sold at auction in 2012. Culture Minister Ed Vaizey blocked the Bentley’s export, under the guidance of the Reviewing Committee, on the grounds that it was "of outstanding significance for the study of motor racing and automobile technology in the first half of the twentieth century." As if to add further weight to his statement, Vaizey said of the car, “It would be a tremendous loss to the nation if this wonderful car, that so beautifully epitomizes the passion and glamor of motor racing in 1930s Britain, were to be exported overseas. I hope that a UK buyer can be found in the time now available so we can keep this magnificent piece of British racing history in the UK.”

There’s no denying the fact that the Bentley in question bears both historical significance (it is, after all, a record-setting car) and strong ties to England. Its original owner, “Bentley Boy” Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, is an iconic figure whom W.O. Bentley himself once called “the greatest Briton of his time.” The Bentley was even awarded “Car of the Year” honors at the 2012 International Historic Motoring Awards, held in London, England, in November.

This isn’t the first time the Bentley has faced export, either. In 1964, the car was offered for sale, but little interest initially came from within England. When word came of an interested buyer in the United States, a sale was hastily arranged to “Rusty” Russ-Turner, a member of the Bentley Drivers’ Club Hendon. Since then, the car has passed through a series of owners, all of them residing in the United Kingdom. Its owner prior to the sale, watchmaker and car collector George Daniels, once called the car “An exceedingly potent reminder of a magisterial period of British racing history,” which perhaps explains why the Arts Council and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey are so intent on keeping the car in England.

Not that the historic racer hasn’t left British soil in the past: To tease its sale at Goodwood in 2012, Bonhams did bring the car to various cities in the United States (including New York City and Scottsdale, Arizona), but this minor vacation from British soil apparently raised no objections. A permanent relocation, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.

The temporary ban on exporting the car will last until October 31, 2013. If a British buyer is willing to spend the £5,149,800 ($7,984,765) that the Arts Council deems a fair price for the car, it can and will be sold to a new owner (prompting, most likely, litigation from the current buyer). Should someone in Britain demonstrate “a serious intention to raise funds to purchase the car,” but fail to meet the October 31 deadline, the Arts Council has the option of extending the export ban until May 31, 2014.

There’s no denying the fact that the Bentley in question bears both historical significance (it is, after all, a record-setting car) and strong ties to England. Its original owner, “Bentley Boy” Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, is an iconic figure whom W.O. Bentley himself once called “the greatest Briton of his time.” The Bentley was even awarded “Car of the Year” honors at the 2012 International Historic Motoring Awards, held in London, England, in November.

This isn’t the first time the Bentley has faced export, either. In 1964, the car was offered for sale, but little interest initially came from within England. When word came of an interested buyer in the United States, a sale was hastily arranged to “Rusty” Russ-Turner, a member of the Bentley Drivers’ Club Hendon. Since then, the car has passed through a series of owners, all of them residing in the United Kingdom. Its owner prior to the sale, watchmaker and car collector George Daniels, once called the car “An exceedingly potent reminder of a magisterial period of British racing history,” which perhaps explains why the Arts Council and Culture Minister Ed Vaizey are so intent on keeping the car in England.

Not that the historic racer hasn’t left British soil in the past: To tease its sale at Goodwood in 2012, Bonhams did bring the car to various cities in the United States (including New York City and Scottsdale, Arizona), but this minor vacation from British soil apparently raised no objections. A permanent relocation, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.

The temporary ban on exporting the car will last until October 31, 2013. If a British buyer is willing to spend the £5,149,800 ($7,984,765) that the Arts Council deems a fair price for the car, it can and will be sold to a new owner (prompting, most likely, litigation from the current buyer). Should someone in Britain demonstrate “a serious intention to raise funds to purchase the car,” but fail to meet the October 31 deadline, the Arts Council has the option of extending the export ban until May 31, 2014.