Blower Bentley Illustration

I had an enquiry some time ago asking if I had an illustration of a 4 ½ Litre Bentley. I hadn’t at the time but I put it on the list of cars to illustrate. I was lucky enough to once have a ride in a Bentley of this era, although not a Blower Bentley seen in my picture.

The Blower Bentley is the iconic racing Bentley of the pre-war years and ‘Bentley Boy’ Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin. The 4 ½ Litre supercharged was actually the least successful of all the Bentleys in competition and bitterly opposed by W.O. Bentley. The supercharger increased power from around 110bhp to 175bhp.

The Blower Bentley’s most notable success came at the 1930 French Grand Prix at Pau. Competing against a field of Bugatti Grand Prix cars, Birkin raced the huge Bentley to an heroic 2nd place. The cars weigh over 2 tonnes and are almost certainly the heaviest cars ever raced in a grand prix. 

The Illustration is available as as greetings cards, giclee prints and T-Shirts.