1924 Bentley 3 Litre

W.O. Bentley's mews garage off Baker Street, London in 1919 began from the humblest of beginnings and quickly achieved a reputation and fame for their fast touring cars. Bentley dominated at Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930 with the help of Woolf Barnato, Jack Dunfee, Tim Birkin, and Sammy Davis.

In 1919, W.O. Bentley introduced the new 3-Litre car on Stand 126 at the Olympia Motor Exhibition. The prototype engine had been completed just a few weeks earlier. The four-cylinder fixed-head engine had a single overhead camshaft, four-valves per cylinder, and a bore and stroke that measured 80 x 149mm. The ignition was provided by twin ML magnetos and power was sent to the rear wheels via a four-speed unsynchronized gearbox with right-hand change. Initially, the pressed-steel chassis rested on a 117.5-inch wheelbase later adopting dimensions of 10-foot, 10-inch 'Standard Long' in 1923. The shorter size was then reserved for the TT Replica and later Speed Model. The rear wheel brakes were upgraded in 1924 with four-wheel Perrott-type brakes.

At the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, Bentleys finished second, fourth, and fifth to take the Team Prize. This led to the introduction of the TT Replica which was later known as the Speed Model. They were given the shorter 117.5-inch platform and were identified by the Red Label on the radiator. The Speed Models were fitted with twin SU 'sloper' carburetors, a different camshaft, and a higher compression ratio. Additionally, they received the close-ratio A-type gearbox until the C-Type 'box' was adopted in 1927. They had a larger 11-gallon fuel tank and were often given Andre Hartford shock absorbers.

During the production lifespan of the 3-Litre model, Bentley produced 1,613 examples with most receiving bodies by Vanden Plans with either open tourer or saloon coachwork. 513 of these were Speed Model specification examples.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2019