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Bentley’s continuation of a car they never built
After Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover, Bentley Motors is now also stepping onto the train of Continuations, Evocations, Tributes, Elaborations, Recreations or whatever they call them to avoid the R-word – ‘R’ for Replica of course.
What’s the plan? Well, Bentley will be building 12 brand-new supercharged 4½-litre cars with the spec of Sir Henry Birkin’s 1929 famous ‘Blower’. Congratulating itself in the press: “Each will be individually handcrafted by a specialist team from Bentley’s custom coachwork division, Mulliner. Together, the new cars will form what Bentley is calling the world’s first pre-war race car continuation series.”
Birkin’s team car ‘UU 5872’, probably the most famous of the four original cars, will undergo a rather radical treatment in order to get there: it will be fully disassembled to its individual components and each part will be scanned in 3D to create a complete digital model of the entire car with the latest digital technology in order to replicate it. Price on application.
That is one unusual memorandum in more than one way. Firstly, you’ll have to like what Bentley is doing here. Why devaluate those pinnacles of motor heritage by creating replicas in the first place? But let’s assume they are out there to help people who have been longing for one such car for all their lives but will never be able to buy the real deal. Okay, there are lots and lots of 3½-Litre, 4-Litre, 4 ½-Litre or Mk5-based Blower replicas on the market but these weren’t built by Bentley, were they?
But hang on. The real cars weren’t built by Bentley either. As a matter of fact, Bentley Motors originally distanced itself from Birkin’s Blower as W.O. Bentley thought supercharging was the wrong way to go. The original Blowers may have been Bentley-based, they were put together at Birkin & Co’s workshops at Welwyn Garden City with funding from the wealthy Dorothy Paget. So, there we go. Bentley will be building replicas of cars they never originally built. Would you really want one of these?
Words by Jeroen Booij. Picture Bentley Motors.
Gepubliceerd:
dinsdag november 19th, 2019
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Reacties
D Charles
15 December 2019, 11:20
Whether or not "you'd really want one" unless you were in the know from day one, able to pay up front, they'll all have been bought by those with immense wealth as investments, same as similar limited production Ferrari, Aston, etc.
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Amer Ahmad
13 December 2019, 10:12
If we take the example of M/s Pur Sang of Argentina who, in the course of making more and more difficult to source spares for the Bugatti Type 35 and the Alfa Romeo 8C, had all the parts to assemble a car out of these, and did. I think it costs $250000 for the kit and although I am repeatedly told that it is much frowned upon especially in France, I am getting an itch in my hands to get hold of one and assemble it in secret in my garage and take it out in dead of the night to enjoy what are truly God cars ( meaning cars God would order if he wanted to drive ) .
At some stage in the future, it would become acceptable to the car people and I would come out of the closet and mingle freely with my type.
Or, at some stage in the future, burning petrol would not be allowed by the powers that be and all such cars will be relegated to stationary displays and the " value" aspect will meet an adjustment in the market to the dismay of collectors who have made the prices exorbitant.
Everyday I drive my preservation class classics someone says you are a keeper of these cars not an owner so preserve them for the future generation.
I say let there be true copies one can buy and drive and race and destroy with impunity knowing an endless supply of all parts is available at the press of a button. It would be like racing Mazda miatas albeit expensive. I totally agree that such true copies should show a manufacturing date . As long as I don't pretend I have an original, and correct any such impression at the first opportunity, I see no harm whatsoever.
Amer Ahmad
Lahore, Pakistan
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At some stage in the future, it would become acceptable to the car people and I would come out of the closet and mingle freely with my type.
Or, at some stage in the future, burning petrol would not be allowed by the powers that be and all such cars will be relegated to stationary displays and the " value" aspect will meet an adjustment in the market to the dismay of collectors who have made the prices exorbitant.
Everyday I drive my preservation class classics someone says you are a keeper of these cars not an owner so preserve them for the future generation.
I say let there be true copies one can buy and drive and race and destroy with impunity knowing an endless supply of all parts is available at the press of a button. It would be like racing Mazda miatas albeit expensive. I totally agree that such true copies should show a manufacturing date . As long as I don't pretend I have an original, and correct any such impression at the first opportunity, I see no harm whatsoever.
Amer Ahmad
Lahore, Pakistan
Jeroen Booij
20 November 2019, 10:04
Thanks for all the comments, it's interesting to read your thoughts on the subject. I'm still not quite convinced this is the way to go for Bentley Motors though!
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Greg Porter.
20 November 2019, 01:27
Dear Jeroen,
Please note the 50 factory Blowers were not built at the Birkin Works. They were built at Cricklewood. In fact the initial construction of the four Birkin Team cars was also at Cricklewood, the final race prep was carried out to these chassis at the Birkin works. The Birkin Works mainly carried out rebuilds on the race cars and also was the sight of extensive developmental work. The Blower cars changed drastically from their fist race appearance in 1929 to the 1930 Le Mans. The Birkin works did build one car the No. 5 car on their site.
In Response to Chris. You are correct the supercharged cars were not nearly as reliable as the non supercharged 4.5 or Speed Six. This was mainly due to poor gasoline and the fact that metal used in the rods was not really up to the strain. In 1930 the Birkin cars were very much sorted out for Le Manns. However a decision was made to pull the compression plates out of the engines before the race to help beat the Supercharged Mercedes. This result in phenomenal power output, some say over 240hp, the cars did las longer then the SS, but both ended up retiring. A noble sacrifice to ensure a Bentley 5th win.
Thanks,
Greg Porter.
Lees verder
Please note the 50 factory Blowers were not built at the Birkin Works. They were built at Cricklewood. In fact the initial construction of the four Birkin Team cars was also at Cricklewood, the final race prep was carried out to these chassis at the Birkin works. The Birkin Works mainly carried out rebuilds on the race cars and also was the sight of extensive developmental work. The Blower cars changed drastically from their fist race appearance in 1929 to the 1930 Le Mans. The Birkin works did build one car the No. 5 car on their site.
In Response to Chris. You are correct the supercharged cars were not nearly as reliable as the non supercharged 4.5 or Speed Six. This was mainly due to poor gasoline and the fact that metal used in the rods was not really up to the strain. In 1930 the Birkin cars were very much sorted out for Le Manns. However a decision was made to pull the compression plates out of the engines before the race to help beat the Supercharged Mercedes. This result in phenomenal power output, some say over 240hp, the cars did las longer then the SS, but both ended up retiring. A noble sacrifice to ensure a Bentley 5th win.
Thanks,
Greg Porter.
Tyrone Hopes
19 November 2019, 23:10
Correct Chris - the Blower Bentley wasn't reliable. But would the average buyer care? We understand the irony, and enjoy it! But it never finished at Le Mans (the venue that Bentley dominated in the later 1920's). And yet that vast project involved the Bentley works having to build 50 of the blower specification chassis to comply with Le Mans regulations. How much assembly was done by Bentley and by Birkins' team is a moot point, but they're still Bentleys, not Birkins (I agree with you Jan). I suspect Bentley did the majority of the heavy lifting. In racing, best position was a surprise 2nd in the 1930 French Grand Prix which was formula libre that year. A heavier crank, designed for the blower version seems to have become standard in the non-blown 4.5 litre from that point on, increasing reciprocating mass (but allowing for several 4.5's to be retrospectively fitted with a supercharger). I say let the Bentley company do what they like. It's not a British company any more, but it seems good they're celebrating the successes of the 'original' British company. Good luck to them! But still I don't understand where the safety belts, airbags and head rests will fit.
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Nick Haines
19 November 2019, 22:11
Not sure that these 'new' Bentleys will devalue the originals, as the historic cars will always have the holy grail of cherished items - provenance. No different either to what Pur Sang currently do for Bug 35/51's, Alfa 8C Monza's etc and what Ford Motor Co. did in 2003 with their centenary celebration 'new' Model T's.
Provided they are not passed off as originals, no issues! I agree with Nigel, stop complaining and start your engines!!
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Provided they are not passed off as originals, no issues! I agree with Nigel, stop complaining and start your engines!!
keith kuehn
19 November 2019, 20:27
Some VERY good replies here. So, maybe all I will say is, I agree with many here, and for my poor mans two pennies worth, I am sure Bentley shall make a very tidy profit off each and every one. Plus no matter what, I shall not be able to afford one, and I'm OK with that.
That all being said, I'd like to take a moment and wish everyone a very Blessed Christmas / Holiday season.
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That all being said, I'd like to take a moment and wish everyone a very Blessed Christmas / Holiday season.
Andy Lestocq
19 November 2019, 18:20
Mercedes could recreate the 38/250 blowers of the same era and pit them against the Bentleys. It could be better than F1 !
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Patrick
19 November 2019, 14:54
Replica's , recreations.... if it was art , it would be destroyed as it should be.
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Stephane
21 November 2019, 08:59
I for my part am delighted that Bentley Motors will be making a few replica blower Bentleys - even if unfortunately the price is way higher than the original inflation adjusted price, and thus completely out of reach. Cars of the 1920's and 30s are some of the most beautiful objects man has ever made. It is a tragedy that the classic era lasted so few years, before a war-ravaged world moved away from the imposing radiators, separate headlights, separate wings, long bonnets and fine chrome and woodwork that epitomize pre-war elegance. As time goes by, the existing (limited) stock of such cars diminishes, through crashes or fire. Replicas help replace what is lost (and was never plentiful to begin with).
To the replica haters out there, who believe replicas should be destroyed or banned: not everyone likes modern things. There is still Louis XVI or Chippendale style furniture being built today, even if the Louis XVI era has passed. Individual houses in Britain are still largely built in traditional styles, mock Georgian, not in the modern glass/concrete that dominates office buildings. Wealthy individuals still have yachts built in 1920's/30's styles. Nobody suggests that a yacht built today according to 1930 plans should be destroyed (by whom, by which authority?), or a traditional new house destroyed, so why do you advocate that replicas (built by the original company, more or less), should be destroyed?
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To the replica haters out there, who believe replicas should be destroyed or banned: not everyone likes modern things. There is still Louis XVI or Chippendale style furniture being built today, even if the Louis XVI era has passed. Individual houses in Britain are still largely built in traditional styles, mock Georgian, not in the modern glass/concrete that dominates office buildings. Wealthy individuals still have yachts built in 1920's/30's styles. Nobody suggests that a yacht built today according to 1930 plans should be destroyed (by whom, by which authority?), or a traditional new house destroyed, so why do you advocate that replicas (built by the original company, more or less), should be destroyed?
Michael Schlenger
21 November 2019, 01:09
This is the best comment on the subject, in my opinion. If the people working with Bentley today aren't able to create something of comparable attraction like the vehicles their forefathers designed in prewar-times, they should just concentrate on producing spare parts for vintage models. Replicas and reproductions just diminish the immaterial value of the truely original vehicles.
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Lance Sheldrick
19 November 2019, 11:36
Would W.O. approve? Surely he would think that the engineers at whoever owns the "Bentley" name should be moving forward. How lazy of them to try to justify their positions by resting on past glories achieved ninety years ago.
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Henry Smith
19 November 2019, 10:55
I think "continuation" cars or replicas (call them what you will) are a great idea. A bit like owning a good copy of an old master painting. However, they and their components should be clearly marked up as such to avoid unscrupulous individuals faking provenance and turning a modern car into something it clearly isn't.
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Jan Miller
19 November 2019, 10:48
Jeroen is wrong, stating that the 5 Birkin Cars haven’t been built by Bentley Motors.
Actually Birkin just modified the factory built 4 ½ cars - mainly by adding a compressor to the engine.
One could of course argue that a replica remains a replica – but then again, Bentley Motors is not trying to tell anything else about these new build cars. The 12 new cars will furthermore not devaluate the original car (how could they?) - but if so, Bentley Motors, owning the original, will harm themselves. Their decision.
So, sorry Jeroen, what's the fuss?
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Actually Birkin just modified the factory built 4 ½ cars - mainly by adding a compressor to the engine.
One could of course argue that a replica remains a replica – but then again, Bentley Motors is not trying to tell anything else about these new build cars. The 12 new cars will furthermore not devaluate the original car (how could they?) - but if so, Bentley Motors, owning the original, will harm themselves. Their decision.
So, sorry Jeroen, what's the fuss?
Richard Smith
19 November 2019, 10:32
It's a non-starter because these "new" cars will sell most probably for around £5 million and that's way beyond the pocket of most people. So it will always bean exclusive purchase and much cheaper and equally effective to buy an original 4.5 litre car and modify it.
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Nigel Wright
19 November 2019, 09:29
No need to get your panties in a bunch over this - just go and have some fun. It would be great if Alfa, Lancia and Fiat went down this road - so to speak.
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Richard Smith
19 November 2019, 11:52
If they are new cars built on a brand new chassis don't they have to meet the very latest construction and use regulations, crash tested etc. if they are to be allowed on the public highway? Where will they put the airbags?
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Alan Brookman
20 November 2019, 02:09
In the US there is legislation (not as yet fully implemented) that allows for low-production replica automobiles that requires them to meet only the emissions requirements. Crash testing wouldn't be necessary. Can't comment on Britain.
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Chris Leigh-Jones
19 November 2019, 01:23
I have an anecdotal memory that they were not especially reliable? I wonder if the application of modern tribology and metallurgy would fix that or will they replicate the tool kit just in case? Personally I'm not much of a purist so "have at it" and make something someone will drive and have great fun doing it. p.s. I think a lot of Mini Coopers were knocked out by John Cooper Garages in Ferring, West Sussex, UK but that did not stop BMW badging their own evocation, replica or whatever.
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