Australian Car Guide

2001 March 17: The Le Mans 24-hour race started in torrential rain, causing main accidents. The #7 Bentley (Martin Brundle, Stephane Ortelli & Guy Smith) had its race ended by gear selection problems on the Saturday evening after running well and leading in the early stages. The #8 Bentley (Andy Wallace, Butch Leitzinger, Eric van de Poele) ran strongly to finish third behind two Audi R8s.

2001 January: Bentley Motors announced that it would enter the EXP Speed 8 in the Le-Mans 24-hour Race.

The EXP Speed 8 has a 3.6-litre twin turbo-charged V8 engine derived from the Audi engine that powered the 2000 race winning car; Volkswagen owns both Audi and Bentley. Power is "in excess of 600bhp." The 6-speed transverse gearbox is by Xtrac.

Racing Technology Norfolk is building the EXP Speed 8. It will compete in the Le Mans GTP class for fully enclosed prototypes; the rules limit boost pressure to 1.87 bar and specify 2x33.1mm restrictors in the air inlets. The car should be at the official Le-mans test sessions on 5-6 May 2001. Loa 4630mm, width 1990mm, height 990mm, wheelbase 2730mm, track 1700mm/ 1680mm.

Bentley has a long history at Le-Mans from an era when many of the drivers were independently wealthy. Right the 1924 Le-Mans winning 3-litre Bentley with drivers John Duff and Frank Clement on either side of proprietor W.O.Bentley.

Dudley Benjafield and Davis won in a 3-litre in 1927 despite a serial pile up in which two other Bentleys were eliminated and their own car was damaged after a Schneider spun at White House corner.

Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin drove a 4.5-litre Bentley to victory in 1928 despite last-lap mechanical problems. A 6-litre Speed 6 driven by Barnato and Tim Birkin won in 1929, with 4.5-litre Bentleys in 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. Barnato and Glen Kidston's Speed 6 won in 1930 with Clement and Watney's in second place; Bentley Motors then retired from racing.

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1919: Bentley Motors was founded by William Owen Bentley.

EXP 2, the 2nd Bentley built, oldest surviving. 1924 Bentley;   picture by L.A11ison.

1921: First car, the `3-Litre Bentley', on sale; the 2996cc, 4-cylinder engine had, 4-valves per cylinder, sohc, a bore of 80mm and a stroke of 149mm.

1925: A 6597cc, 6-cylinder model was introduced to handle large and heavier bodywork.

1927: The 4-cylinder engine was enlarged to 4398cc, nominally 4.5-litres - using the pistons of the 6.

1929: A supercharged 4.5-litre car was developed for Birkin to race; there was a limited production run of 50 to make this model eligible for racing. It is said that W.O.Bentley did not approve of supercharging.

1930: A 7983cc, 6-cylinder Bentley was released in late 1930, a fast touring car rather than a strict sports car. It was not a good time to be producing such an expensive car.

1931: Bentley Motors went bankrupt. It was bought by Rolls Royce which ran it as a subsidiary, essentially rebadging Rolls Royces as Bentleys, often in more sporting, higher performance versions. W.O.Bentley later joined Lagonda.

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