1930 Bentley 4.5 Liter Supercharged Open Sports Tourer

This Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Supercharged 'Blower' Sports Tourer was built in 1930. It received the standard 10-foot, 10-inch frame, a D-type gearbox, 15/46 rear axle, and engine no. SM3916 with a smooth case Amherst Villiers Mk IV supercharger, no. 113. The 4,398cc SOHC inline four-cylinder engine breathed through twin SU HVG5 carburetors and with the help of the Amherst Villiers Roots-Type Supercharger, produced 182 horsepower at 3,900 RPM. It was paired with a four-speed non-synchromesh D Type gearbox and four-wheel mechanical drum brakes to provide the stopping power. At the front was a beam axle while the rear used a live axle, with semi-elliptical leaf springs all round.

After completion of the chassis, SM3913 was sent to Vanden Plas in Kingsbury, UK, where it received its four-seater, fabric-covered Sports coachwork (body number 1662), with full-length wings, a hinged single-pane windscreen, and a rear-mounted spare tire. It wore a blue livery with matching blue leather upholstery and black wings.

On July 17, 1930, the Bentley was registered as 'GH1932' and delivered to its first owner, Gerard Bristowe Sanderson of Edinburgh, Scotland. In his care for a short period of time, it was sold in January of 1933 to R.G. Wilson of East Sheen, London. Later that same year, it was advertised for sale by Jack Olding and sold to another London resident, A.C. Sewall. While in his care, Mr. Sewall had Bentley service the 35,000-mile Blower, including replacing the original Smith headlamps for Bosch units, along with a general chassis overhaul, radiator repair, and Autopulse reconditioning.

The car was sold in 1936 and shortly thereafter, it was fitted with a larger 25-gallon semi-Le Mans fuel tank.

The Bentley was placed in storage for many years, and when it emerged, it was acquired by Harry Kemp-Place of Essex. He sold the Bentley in 1948 to Raymond Erith who used it regularly as his daily driver.

The Bentley left its native Britain for the first time, in 1955, when it was sold to Richard E. Stitt of Hinsdale, Illinois. It remained in Mr. Stitt's care for over three decades and was shown occasionally at local meets. Tim Scott purchased the Blower from Mt. Stitt in 1988 and had it returned to England where it was displayed at the BDC Kensington Gardens Concours that June. The Bentley remained in Mr. Scott's ownership until 2004, when it was sold to Don Williams' Blackhawk Collection in Danville, California. It would later return to England when it was sympathetically restored by Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist P & A Wood.

In 2011, the car was purchased by a European-based collector. After driving the Blower for several years, including entering it in the Flying Scotsman Rally in 2014, he commissioned R.C. Moss to restore the car in such a way as to maintain its originality, but return it to factory-delivered standards. The work was performed between 2014 and 2019 and upon completion, made its restoration debut at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where Bentley was the featured marque. It was awarded a First in Class from a field of significant 4 1/2 Litres.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2022

W.O. Bentley showed the first factory-built Supercharged Bentley 4.5 Litre at the London Olympia Motor Show in the autumn of 1929. The first 25 supercharged cars received chassis numbers beginning with SM; these had smooth-cased 'blowers.' The next 25 chassis numbers, beginning with MS, had ribbed blowers to aid cooling. This car still has its original supercharger cover, designed to keep the outside carburetors warm and prevent icing up in cold weather. This motor car is considered by many people in the Bentley community to be the most original of the 50 supercharged 4.5 Litres produced by the factory. Its original Rexine-covered body shows the original blue paintwork that was uncovered during its recent conservation. It was first sold to Mr. G. B. Sanderson, fitted with rare Bosch headlamps and a larger-than-standard 25-gallon fuel tank. In 1948 it passed to noted collector Raymond Erith, who summarized the car as 'quite the nicest car' he had ever owned. Dick Stitt of Chicago took ownership in 1955 and maintained its originality for the next 33 years. Its current owner acquired the car in 2011. 2019 was the first time it had been shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.