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1922 Bentley 3 Litre    
Original Numbers
Chassis No. 94
Engine No. 53
Registration No. ME 4976

  This car - updated
Chassis No. - Renumbered as 42
Engine No. - 61
Registration No. ME 4976

(Updated with Hay's 1997 information. Current owner / former owners, please come forward with further updates. - July 2016)
 
April 2011
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"This car was in Houston on the weekend. Keels & Wheels Concours, Houston Texas, April 30, 2011"

This is the first Bentley to be entered into the indianapolis 500.W.O. Bentley's products had only available only to the general public for a little over three years when English sportsman W.D. Hawkes decided to enter this one in the 1922 Indianapolis 500. Up against a field comprised almost entirely of 100-percent-racing cars, Hawkes finished 13th-place, completing the full 500 miles just one and a half hours after the winner, in a time of six hours and 40 minutes, averaging 74.95 mph.

 
     
     
  Source: Robert McLellan - VintageBentleys.org
Posted: May 06, 2011
 
     
 

There is a lot of confusion surrounding the fate of the 1922 TT cars, 3 in no. and the Indianapolis car.

Certainly, Chassis 94 was rebuilt in the 1960s by Cranfield. It was well documented in Veteran and Vintage magazine etc. Subsequently it is believed to have gone to the Indy Museum, in the USA, where as far as we know, it still is.

However, one look at the original picture of Chassis 94, [as per P' Tebbett] and comparing this with the one in the Indy museum, it appears that the Cranfield rebuild used a standard 3 litre Bentley bulkhead and not the 'special' lower one as used originally for the TT cars and the Indy car. Hence the car in the museum is probably around 3 or 4 inches higher at the bulkhead and also the radiator. More later...

 
     
     
  Source: Stuart Forsey
Posted: Mar 30, 2011
 
     
2006
In England in 2006 / Owned by a BDC member
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  Source: The Great Cars by Ralph Stein, 1967
Posted: May 08, 2007
 
     
1960
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Old Woking Garage 1960.

(Reg ME 4976 is the car on extreme left in each photo.)

 
     
     
  Source: Paul Tebbett
Posted: Mar 03, 2011
 
     
1950
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94 in 1950 Motor sport

 
     
     
  Source: Motor Sport magazine, 1950
Posted: Feb 21, 2018
 
     
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  Source: A Pictorial History of the Automobile by Peter Roberts, 1977
Posted: May 24, 2007
 
     
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This Bentley 3-Litre took part in the 1922 "500" race and in 1976 was in the Indianapolis Speedway Museum in Indiana.

 
     
     
  Source: "Car Classics" magazine, June 1976 issue
Updated: Dec 21, 2006
Posted: Dec 20, 2006
 
     
1923
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Aston Hill Climb, 1923.

 
     
     
  Source: Austin Harris
Posted: Aug 21, 2009
 
     
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1922: W.D. Hawkes at the wheel of the racing Bentley 3 litre entered for the Indianapolis 500 Miles Race.

 
     
     
  Source: "Queste" magazine, Bentley Special Issue, 1984
Posted: Feb 02, 2007
 
     
 

"Car, driven by W. D. Hawkes, finished 13th (last) in the 1922 at 74.95 mph, having been uncrated and taken straight to the race! The car was fitted with a special steel steering wheel (not the standard aluminium one) for this race." - Dr. Mike Story - Jun 14, 2007

 
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W.D. Hawkes at the wheel of the three-litre Bentley Indianapolis racer.

"As already announced in The Autocar of April 22nd, a three-litre Bentley car is to compete in the 500 Miles Race at Indianapolis on May 30th."

 
     
     
  Source: From article "The Bentley for Indianapolis" published in "The Autocar", May 6, 1922 issue
Posted: Feb 23, 2008
 
     
EARLIEST RECORD OF HISTORICAL FACTS & INFORMATION
 
Chassis No. 94
Engine No. 53
Registration No. ME 4976
Date of Delivery: No info
Type of Body: 2-seater
Coachbuilder: Ewart
Type of Car: IND
   
First Owner: (HEATON T)
 
     
  More Info: Indy car. Became No. 1 TT (ME 1884)

Michael Hay, in his book Bentley: The Vintage Years, 1997, states: "See 42. This ch. renumbered as ch. 42, eng 61, reg ME 1884. Raced by Clement as 2 seater then single seater. Engine 61 (ie 53 renumbered as 61) blown up then re-built on crankcase 163 as EXP 2. Sold to Whitwell of Darlington with new Ewart body Oct 1932."
 
     
     
  Posted: Sep 20, 2006  
     
 
 
 
Submit more information on this car
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sep 30, 2020 - Info and photograph received from Simon Hunt for Chassis No. RL3439
Sep 30, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Dick Clay for Chassis No. 147
Sep 29, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Ernst Jan Krudop for his Chassis No. AX1651
Sep 28, 2020 - Info and photographs received from Lars Hedborg for his Chassis No. KL3590
Sep 25, 2020 - Info and photograph added for Registration No. XV 3207
Sep 24, 2020 - Info and photograph added for Registration No. YM 7165
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