The 69th annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, August 2019.

1930 4½ litre Bentley

Chassis No. HR3976, Bentley model by Kevin Bailey

1929 Birkin Blower Bentley, chassis HR3976
1929 Birkin Blower Bentley 4.5-Litre Vanden Plas owned by Ralph Lauren

The concept of the 4½ Liter, supercharged Bentleys (The Blower Cars) originated with Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin, privileged son of a wealthy family whose resources allowed him to pursue his ambition of becoming a race car driver. Birkin developed a friendship with W.O. Bentley and given Birkin’s connections, Bentley realized that Birkin could help the struggling car maker (which was going bankrupt) to win important races.

Birkin knew he would need a lot of power to compete with the supercharged Mercedes, Alfa and Bugatti racing cars of the time and came up with the idea of supercharging the then-fastest 4½ Liter Bentleys. Bentley, though skeptical, conceded and built 50 supercharged cars to qualify for the 1929 Le Mans 24 Hour race. Birkin built two “works cars,” but neither finished. (A “Speed Six” Bentley placed first, followed by 4½ Liter, non-supercharged Bentleys placing second, third and fourth).

With his money running low, Birkin convinced friend, noted socialite and horsewoman Dorothy Paget to help finance his team. Entering Le Mans again in 1930 with two Bentleys (#8 and #9) including chassis HR3976, which carries the Paget crest between the radiator cap and the Bentley badge, the Birkin cars did very well – while they lasted (the fastest race-lap, 6 minutes 48 seconds, was set by the 9 car). Birkin’s cars again failed to finish; HR3976, driven by Dr. Dudley Benjafield and Giulio Ramponi, completed 144 laps before it broke a piston.

This car’s best finish was a second at the 1930 French Grand Prix (Pau) at the hands of Birkin. By the end of 1930 Paget’s patience with the Birkin team ran out; she cut off funding and the team closed up shop. HR 3976 was then sold to a Frenchman, racing at Le Mans in 1932 and 1933, again failing to finish either. This car was restored in 1990 by Traction Seabert of England with care given to not over-restore it but rather to maintain it in its ‘as raced’ condition. It is one of only two “short chassis” Bentleys built.

Lime Rock Park Historic Festival, August 2014

Ralph Lauren Car Collection Exhibited in Paris
Bentley Blower, 1929 – This car was designed by W.O. Bentley, but it was Sir Hilary Birkin, one of the “Bentley Boys” (a group of British gentlemen, all of them drivers and lovers of fast cars) which led Bentley to equip it with a compressor, hence its nickname “Blower.” With massive bodywork embellished with the English flag, the Bentley Blower was created for a single purpose: to win races. This is the car Ian Fleming chose for James Bond 007 in his first novels.

These photographs are from the Ralph Lauren Car Collection Exhibition, titled L’Art de L’Automobile, which was held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, in August 2011. (Photos by Csaba Kiss)

Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, August 2009

Photographs of Airfix 1:12th scale model. These model kits were produced in the 1980s and 1:12th scale is no longer available.

1930 Bentley 4½ Litre Blower in The Legendary Sports Cars, Documentary, 1985

One of the three famous road equipped Birken/Paget cars and the last to be added to the team for the 1930 season.

Car has been impeccably restored to completely original condition, as raced, by its present owner, Mr. Stanley Sears. The car is the original No. 2 cars of the Birkin/Paget team of racing "Blower" Bentleys. During 1929 and 1930 it competed extensively in international competition and in 1959, at Herrentals near Antwerp, it was officially timed to cover the flying mile in both directions at an average speed of 125.675 m.p.h.

Photograph was taken in the late 1950s — BDC Kensington Garden Concours.

Sir Henry Birkins at French Grand Prix at Pau in 1930 when he took 2nd place in the Hon. Dorothy Paget's stripped 4½ Litre Blower Bentley.

Tim Birkin taking his blower Bentley through an "S" bend on the Pau Circuit during the 1930 French Grand Prix.

Photograph was taken during 1930 LeMans Race.