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Bentley 3-Litre

The Bentley 3-litre was the sports car that announced Bentley as a global automotive power. Weighing just over 1,700kg, it was quite a large car for its time but its innovative technology and strength more than made up for this. “The fastest lorry in the world” is how Ettore Bugatti described the 3-litre. Even so, it went on to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times, between 1924 and 1930 in its various forms. Bugatti’s comments might have been out of envy due to the fact Bentley had crushed his hopes of winning at Le Mans for many years. The 3-litre was first seen at the 1919 Olympia Motor Show in London and was put into production two years later. It was to be the first of a legendary pedigree of British sports cars. With endurance racing in mind, owner Walter Owen Bentley designed it to be immensely strong, reliable and

The Supersports, of which only 18 were built, was capable of exceeding the magic figure of 100mph. the 3-litre took victories at Le Mans from 1927 to 1930. By now Bentley had become the dominating force in endurance racing. However, even with all its success, Bentley could not avoid bankruptcy and in 1931 was bought by Rolls-Royce. could reach speeds of 80mph, with later models exceeding 90mph. In 1924, the 3-litre won Le Mans for the first time, putting the British company on the motor racing map. The only retirements from this famous race were in 1925 and 1926, which caused Bentley to develop the more powerful 4.5-litre version. For the next four years running,

enduring. Its mechanical simplicity reduced the risk of failure allowing Bentley to offer an unprecedented five-year warranty on his cars. Bentley employed some very sophisticated technologies which were previously unheard of in the automotive industry. Things like aluminium pistons, an overhead camshaft driving four valves per cylinder, twin spark plugs and duel carburettors. The 3-litre developed a lot of torque at low revs, which caused less stress on the engine. These features meant the 3-litre

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