Bentley 3 liter

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Bentley 3 liter

Bentley 3 Liter was a sports car model of Bentley Motors Ltd .

History and production

The first independent Bentley model was produced from 1921 to 1929 and was first presented in May 1919 with a dummy engine. The engine took a long time to develop, which is why the first Bentley was not delivered until September 1921. The fastest variant of the 3 liter, the Super Sports, reached the then very prestigious 100 miles per hour (about 160 km / h). Some of the Super Sports bodies came from Surbico . This made the top model the fastest production road vehicle in the world at the time and also demonstrated (as was customary at the time) that it was used as a racing vehicle: a Bentley 3 Liter Super Sports won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924 . This record was exceeded by the Bentley 4½ liter . Bentley offered the vehicles as chassis and recommended the wheelwright Vanden Plas to many customers to build the body.

The last significant year of production was 1927 with 117 chassis. After that, only small numbers were produced (1928: 34, 1929: 6, 1930: 1). A total of 1622 chassis were produced. It was the bestseller in the model range of Bentley Motors Ltd. from 1919 to 1931.

variants

The 3 liter was available in three main versions, which were differentiated according to the color of the radiator grille emblem. However, upon request, customers were also offered a different-colored emblem for each variant, so that the emblem is not a reliable distinguishing feature.

  • Blue Label: The standard model with a 117.5 inch (2985 mm) wheelbase (1921 to 1929) or with a long wheelbase of 130 inches (3302 mm) (1923 to 1929).
  • Red Label: With high-compression engine ( compression ratio 5.3: 1) and 117.5 inch wheelbase (1924 to 1929).
  • Green Label: The high-performance model with a compression ratio of 6.3: 1 and a short wheelbase of 108 inches (2743 mm). A maximum speed of 100 mph was guaranteed (1924–1929).

3 liter reconditioned

When Bentley was bought by the competitor Rolls-Royce in 1931, the inventory changed hands. From 1933 Rolls-Royce produced the newly developed Bentley 3½ liter and 4¼ liter models , with which no parts from this inventory were compatible. In 1936, Rolls-Royce made use of the remaining inventory by rebuilding four used Bentley 3 liters , replacing wear parts with new parts from the warehouse. The frames were given new chassis numbers (RC for "Reconditioned"), were sold with bodies from Vanden Plas and given to customers with a five-year guarantee.

literature

  • Klaus-Josef Roßfeldt: Rolls-Royce and Bentley Automobile, From the beginning of the century to the new millennium. Self-published, 1998, ISBN 3-00-004434-5 .

Web links

Commons : Bentley 3 Liter  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ N. Baldwin: AZ of Cars of the 1920s . Bay View Books, Devon, UK 1994, ISBN 1-870979-53-2 .
  2. ^ A b c N. Georgano: Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile . HMSO, London 2000, ISBN 1-57958-293-1 .
  3. ↑ Car of the Month - November 1999 Bentley 4½ liter Tourer . rrab.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.