Tobius/bentelycustomer · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 74 42.6k	__index_level_0__ int64 1.06k 12.7k
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Resolved: to get to the end of this page firmlv resisting the temptation to wamble off about the Great Green Cars at Le Mans and, if possible, without committing more than a score or so of the great green clichés that bewitch one's typing finger at the very thought of a Blower 4 1/2. Continued...</s>	1,859
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The Bentley Club's Silverstone meeting last Saturday was the ideal of what a club show should be. The very fact that the normal crowd of paying spectators were banned made it a purely friendly and very personal affair reminiscent of the best days of old Brooklands. Continued...</s>	1,860
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Nothing unique about the title you might say but this trip took place sixty summers ago, just before that last great unpleasantness known as World War 11. It was undertaken in 1939 by four intrepid young men, undergraduates at Clare College, Cambridge. At that time the 4 1/2 was owned by one of them, now retired Brigadier AG Heywood CBE, LVO, MC, who lives today in the beautiful Doverill Valley in South West Wiltshire. Continued...</s>	1,861
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] My first intensive phase of vintage motoring came to an end on 19 February 1953 when, having cashed the (uncrossed) Postal Order representing the Queen's Shilling, I arrived at Gibraltar Barracks, Bury St Edmunds, in a Bentley driven by Father. For a few seconds — while I disembarked and said goodbye outside the entrance — I commanded some reverence, but it quickly evaporated when I explained my mission. Continued...</s>	1,862
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Father had moved from a 4½-litre Bentley to the 6½ and now, fancying an 8, acquired GY7850. Well, in those days, the road tax was 25/- per horse-power (RAC rating) and the 8-litre was rated at 45.01hp, which made the annual tax £56/5/- or £15/9/5d per quarter. Continued...</s>	1,863
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] OX 6934 was a 1928 4½ litre Bentley and, although it had no body, petrol was unobtainable, and he didn't know how to drive it, Father forked out £125 and the chassis was pushed round into The Lane and into our garage... Continued...</s>	1,864
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] It was most enjoyable to be out in a real motor-car again and to be able to say I had been driving a Bentley at Brooklands! This brief backwards glimpse provided a firm reminder of the unassailable position occupied by the 3-litre Bentley some fifty years ago. Our 1942 account was published just after John Duffs victory at Le Mans, and apart from a later Editor of MOTOR SPORT deciding that in 1926 there was no comparable sporting car, another well-known motoring writer, whose mother bought a new 3-litre, has pointed out that people are apt to forget, now that the 3-litre is a vintage car, what a stupendous reputation it had in its heyday. Continued...</s>	1,865
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Bentley cars of the 1920s have been called many things in various countries. For example, "classic", "Cricklewood" W.O. Bentleys, but today the title Vintage Bentley is almost universally used and understood.</s>	1,866
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] One day Mr. Tyreshoes told Father that he knew of a 6½-litre Bentley - "It's at Old Thoday's place, at Jack's Hill". Father couldn't resist this, and off they went. Jack's Hill is on the old A1 at Stevenage, and Jack's Hill Cafe was a favourite stopping off point for hungry travellers, especially late at night... Continued...</s>	1,867
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] Among new models none will cause greater interest at the Show than the 8-litre Bentley, the latest addition to that make's range. Continued...</s>	1,868
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The general conception of the 3-litre Bentley was forming in the mind of its creator before the end of World War I. W.O.'s idea was to produce a very fast motor-car, on the principle of a racing-car detuned as it were, by building into it enough strength and weight to ensure reliability and durability in the hands of private owners, as pooposed to "hotting-up " an ordinary car to the point where it became unreliable. Continued...</s>	1,869
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] In March, 1941, I discovered a 1924 "Speed Model" Bentley (Chassis No. 443) in Poona, but owing to having on the previous day purchased by wire to Delhi a 1935 Lancia "Dilambda" sports tourer, funds did not permit of buying and maintaining a second car. However, in due course No. 443 was purchased by a friend of mine for about £30, and though the bodywork was rough, mechanically the car was in very sound order. Its big snag was the old-type wheels fitted with 820 by 120 tyres for which, search as we might, and did, we were never able to find the much-needed spares. This car was driven to Delhi by two friends, the time taken being two and a half days. I was to have been the third driver for this interesting trip but, unfortunately, was removed to hospital with paratyphoid a few days before we were due to start. Continued...</s>	1,870
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] The first intimation of the existence of CK 8172 was when my friend and colleague, John Hay, returned from a deviously-routed official journey with the news that a quaint Bentley, believed to be a 3-litre, was residing in a breaker's yard at Bradford. A journey was obviously imperative, so we went to hold an inquest on the remains, and found the engine and gearbox complete and apparently undamaged... Continued...</s>	1,871
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Whether it happens to be their ideal or not, enthusiasts cannot overlook the satisfaction of a drive in a Bentley of the old school. Recently we were able to cover rather less than 100 miles in a rather unusual 4 1/2-litre and definitely the appeal was there… Continued...</s>	1,872
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The invitation to go out in Forrest Lycett's 8-litre last month, before the famous car is stored for an indefinite period in some warm, safe garage, was accepted with as much keen anticipation as if we had never been in the car before, for motoring of this calibre is quite unique, and particularly so in these disturbed times. The 8-litre is accepted in most circles as the highest-performance road car in existence, and even those who should know it better are heard to express the opinion that it is a very considerably hotted-up version of the Bentley marque. Continued...</s>	1,873
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] In the following article Peter Robertson-Roger gives some hitherto unpublished information about his two supercharged, 4 1/2-litre Bentleys. They were No. 1 and 4 of the late Sir Henry Birkin's famous team, which was financed by the Hon. Dorothy Paget, and raced during the 1929-31 seasons. Continued...</s>	1,874
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] When Peter Clark said "she's rather good, as 'Blue Labels' go" and told us what she has cost him we realised that here was a unique opportunity to discover just what a sound but not abnormal 3-litre Bentley can do. Albeit, in matters of layout and equipment, Peter's car is distinctly individualistic. What she actually represents is a very late series "Blue Label" vintage 1928-29 with the original fabric saloon body replaced by cut-about sports two-seater carriage work... Continued...</s>	1,875
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] So many readers are interested in the Bentley marque, and as every owner of an old-school Bentley we meet seems to enthusiastically read Motor Sport we feel that some notes on improving the performance of the old-model Bentleys may prove of interest. We are indebted to Mr. L. G. McKenzie, the well known Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist, for the information that follows. Continued...</s>	1,876
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] The first car to catch our eye was a special 1982 8-litre Bentley modified for a friend of the late Sir Henry Birkin and fitted with a Corsica four-seater open body designed by McKenzie expressly to meet this client's requirements. This is a truly imposing motor-car… Another interesting McKenzie Bentley is a 4-litre chassis with the 8-litre braking system and a 6 1/2-litre Speed Six engine. Mr. McKenzie has a 4 1/2-litre Bentley of his own which is subjected to experimental modification in the interests of clients, and which he drove in the Bentley Drivers' Handicap at Brooklands last year. Continued...</s>	1,877
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Because few people can these days afford an annual tax of £28 10s., and a consumption of fuel exceeding 1,000 gallons for a moderate year's motoring, the Big Six Bentley is available secondhand for extremely low sums. Nevertheless, it is ever an interesting study to the enthusiast, who may even contemplate-limiting his annual mileage and perhaps licensing only for half the year, to enable him to experience the joys of owning a really big-engined aristocrat that invariably carries its age lightly. Continued...</s>	1,878
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] In pre-war days if you wanted to go fast, you bought a car with a large engine, and the speed you achieved depended largely on how much chassis space you were prepared to sacrifice to the all-important motor. Engine power, braking systems and road-holding have been vastly improved since those far-off days, but the principle still remains the same, and the Bentley which forms the subject of this article came as a refreshing interlude in the stream of small high revving cars which have become almost universal nowadays. Continued...</s>	1,879
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The name of Bentley was by no means unknown in the racing world before the first car bearing it ever made its appearance. All followers of the sport in pre-War days remembered "W.O." on his little D.F.P. in the 1914 T.T., and the plucky performance which he put up. When, therefore, directly after the war it became known that he was going to produce a sports car of his own, interest was thoroughly aroused. Continued...</s>	1,880
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] To many the book will come as a surprise. Their knowledge of Sir Henry will be confined to seeing him hurtling (there is no other word for it) round Brooklands Track in the single-seater Bentley, or driving with polished brilliance at Belfast or Le Mans in Bentleys and Alfa Romeos. To them the thrill of speed and driving skill appears to in his chief concern, and whether he is driving at home or abroad, in an English car or a foreign machine, does not seem to matter so long as he has a good drive. Continued...</s>	1,881
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] When a firm starts to make motor cars, and with its first model springs into a position in the automobile world unattained by any of its rivals, there must be something more than usually remarkable about that model. Such was the case of the famous 3-litre Bentley which brought its name to the position of being a household word among motorists, and which has made history both on its own, and on behalf of the motor industry of this country. Continued...</s>	1,882
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] When Bentleys first introduced the supercharged edition of their famous 4 1/2-litre model, a number of prospective owners of this type of car held back from purchase until they had seen how the car performed in the chief racing events of the season… Continued...</s>	1,883
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] To the man who wants the best, price is not of such vital importance and the connoisseurs, whose number is increasing, will always be prepared to purchase such a car as the 6 1/2-litre Bentley… The most striking thing about this model is the amazing quality of silence at all speeds. One naturally expects a 6-cylinder to be flexible but there are few, which combine flexibility and silence with such an excellent performance… Continued...</s>	1,884
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The writer went to the 1926 show without a bias of any description but simply requiring a genuine sports car, which would have the wearing qualities of a staid tourer. The number of suitable vehicles, however, was soon narrowed down and a road test gave the decision in favour of the 3-litre Bentley... About this time, following their success at Le Mans, Bentleys put their famous 4 1/2-litre on the market, and having obtained such good service from the 3-litre we decided to sample one of the new models. A trial was followed by arranging a part exchange with Jack Withers, and we duly became the owner of a 4 1/2-litre, not without a tinge of regret at parting from our faithful first Bentley. Continued...</s>	1,885
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] One of the finest road races ever staged on the Continent or anywhere else was run over the Sarthe circuit at Le Mans, on the 16th and 17th of June. The Sixth Grand Prix of Endurance and Twenty-Four Hour Race proved again a triumph for British cars, and what was probably the finest exhibition of driving and doggedness ever seen over this course was put up by an Englishman on an English car - Capt. H. R. S. Birkin, on the Bentley No. 3. Continued...</s>	1,886
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] The victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race by a 3-litre Bentley is one of which all concerned may feel pretty proud. In England we are able to have no road races at all, and there is nowhere in the country where a race can be held for 24 hours. In spite of this, an English car can go abroad and beat all comers in a race under conditions which our more fortunate continental friends can be much more intimately acquainted with. Continued...</s>	1,887
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Great Britain, represented by three Bentleys, experienced very bad luck in not putting up a better show in this event, held at Le Mans on June 12th and 13th... All three Bentleys performed very well, but two experienced mechanical trouble after 12 and 18 hours respectively... Continued...</s>	1,888
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] It was the result of a conversation with Mr. Hillstead, of Bentley Motors, Ltd., during the course of which he enthused about the staying powers of the Bentley car, that I conceived the idea of going for the "double-twelve" record, at that time the accepted "Supreme Test" of endurance. Continued...</s>	1,889
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] This, the greatest race for cars in touring trim, took place at Le Mans, starting at 4 p.m. on June 20th, 1925, and finishing 24 hours later... Arriving at the circuit six days before the race, one was immediately impressed by the forward state of the preparations, and, although the course was never officially closed, practice was proceeding more or less continuously night and day; one fears that the people whose houses abutted on the circuit enjoyed but little sleep during this period, as most of the cars engaged had open exhausts, silencing regulations being noticeable by their absence. Continued...</s>	1,890
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The sporting car, as a class, has characteristically more distinction than that possessed by touring types. Being essentially out of the ordinary, and representing the result of concentration upon a design intended to emphasise particular motoring qualities, the sporting car usually has quite an individuality of its own. Some sporting cars, of course, are much more conventional than others; whilst there are those which seem to stand quite apart from orthodox standards... In the latter category one may place the three-litre Speed Model Bentley. This car embodies all the qualities which one has come to consider essential in a sporting car. In addition, it has features and characteristics quite its own. Continued...</s>	1,891
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Considerable interest is naturally centred upon the supercharged 4 1/2-litre car which makes its first appearance at this Show, though it has already behind it a remarkable history in the competition world... After its introduction last year the 6 1/2-litre six-cylinder speed model appears in revised form. It is the type of car, which won the Le Mans 24-hour Race this year... Continued...</s>	1,892
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Racing, particularly the long-distance variety, is not always solely a matter of driving and making the best of the car's performance. There is always the unexpected mechanical incident, the burst tyre or the minor failure which calls for rapid work and judgment on the part of driver and mechanic. These pictures by The Motor photographers, show some of the "Blower Bentley Boys" tackling such jobs in French sunshine and in British rain. Continued...</s>	1,893
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] The car was built in 1929 and first raced in the Double-Twelve of that year, Dudley Benjafield and myself driving. After three hours, when well in the lead, we had the misfortune to break the dynamo coupling. It was impossible to repair the coupling at the pits, so the dynamo was removed and put in the back of the car and we went on, soon regaining the lead. The stewards, however, after due deliberation decided we were contravening the rules of running without the dynamo working and in position and compelled us to retire. Continued...</s>	1,894
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Writing recently upon that evergreen topic, old-type Bentleys. Mr. P. Willcox invited my opinion of the Speed Six vis-a-vis the 8-litre. Frankly, the former struck me always as a fortuitously successful improvisation, coming as it did of tainted stock — the standard 6 1/2 litre. Weak frames and cross-members, coupled with harsh suspension, huge wheels, and a high centre of gravity, rendered fast wet-road driving and braking an adventure. Continued...</s>	1,895
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] For Bentley enthusiast R.G. Baillie, the acquisition of a 3-litre became a dream of his from the moment when he first saw the Bentley at the 1921 Motor Show, but it was many years before that dream was realised. As a matter of interest, the Bentley was originally shown at Olympia, in 1919, the first Motor Show after the 1918 Armistice. It appeared then as a chassis only, but in 1920 a complete car was on view, in the White City section of the Show, with an all-weather body, forming the only exhibit on the stand. Continued...</s>	1,896
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] It is interesting to have the 4-litre Bentley recalled by a reader who served his apprenticeship with and was employed by the "old" Bentley Company. Possibly many enthusiasts have gotten that there ever was such a model. It appeared in the spring of the very year (1931) in which the original firm went out of business, that is, just before the acquisition of the name by Rolls-Royce. Thus the 4-litre was short lived as a model; in fact, it scarcely passed the experimental stage, and even appeared to have been put on the market prematurely. The design shared certain features of that great car, in every sense of the word, the 8-litre. Continued...</s>	1,897
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A novel angle on a vintage Bentley is given by a Canadian enthusiast's description of how he found a supercharged 4 1/2-litre in the U.S.A. a year or two before the war and thoroughly reconditioned it with the assistance of a number of equally enthusiastic friends. This Canadian, W. K. Johnson, is known to a good many members of the sporting fraternity here. He has been in England for the greater part of the war years, and has been present at most of the enthusiasts' gatherings held at the Rembrandt Hotel. Continued...</s>	1,898
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The great prestige still enjoyed by the 3-litre Bentley today regarded as typical of the Vintage sports car, makes one forget that when first introduced at the Olympia Show of 1919 it was, in fact, a production-model racing car laid out on full Grand Prix lines... Continued...</s>	1,899
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Imagine the living quarters of an ordinary stable in a still more ordinary mews made into a workshop. In the centre of the floor on a sturdy cradle, stands a four-cylinder engine; it is new and polished, and very impressive. A small group of people is assembled. A man of medium height, dark, and rather thick-set, is patiently waiting with one hand on a plunger-type starter switch, while an assistant floods the carburetter. Continued...</s>	1,900
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The immediate subject is 3-litre Bentley, and it is introduced on this occasion by A. F. Rivers Fletcher, who at one time was with the original Bentley Company. He writes of a late example of 3-litre belonging to a disabled enthusiast, Brian Ashworth... Continued...</s>	1,901
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The present Bentley description deals with a 4 1/2-litre owned by J. Northway, at Bristol. He still has the car, up on blocks for the rest of the war. As usual, modifications have been made, the engine having been expertly rebuilt not long before the war, and fitted with special pistons, plus tuning. It seems to have had as a result useful extra performance over an ordinary 4 1/2. The production car, nicely run-in, was good for about 92 m.p.h., but this example, the owner tells us, could get within sight of the 100 on a recalibrated speedometer. Again as usual, he would like to know more than he does at present of its past history. Continued...</s>	1,902
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Read about the 7th Grand Prix d-Endurance 24 hour international road race at Le Mans 15th and 16th June 1929 — won for the fourth time at record speed, and thrice consecutively by Bentley cars.</s>	1,903
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] In describing the racing career of Capt. Woolf ("Babe") Barnato, the historian is impeded by the seeming ease with which he brought off his wins. His run of successes was marred by no crash and scarcely an incident, a marked contrast to the previous Bentley deeds at Le Mans between the initial victory in 1924 and the fantastic win by Old No 7 after the White House crash in 1927. Continued...</s>	1,904
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Here is what J.G. Fry says about the 3-4 1/2 litre hybrid: "Recipe: take a good 3-litre Red Label Bentley chassis, mix in a good 4 1/2 litre engine gear box, and transmission and add a light two-seater body with accessories to taste. The result is a motorcar, which while still retaining a good vintage flavour, possesses a performance equalled by few other machines even of the most modern and expensive type..." Continued...</s>	1,905
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Bentleys have been remarkable not only for their fame as a marque but also for the number of individually well-known cars made by the company. Two with outstanding records are shown in these pictures taken by members of "The Motor" photographic staff. Here is Forrest Lycett's remarkable eight-litre competing at Lewes in 1935... Continued...</s>	1,906
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The notes upon this car that follow are not in the more usual form from an actual owner, he being a person unknown at the moment. They come from A. F. Rivers Fletcher, who, as he described in an article published some time ago in The Autocar, was with the old Bentley firm during the racing era. He was fortunate enough to encounter the Speed Six which that redoubtable pair of "Bentley Boys", Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston, drove to victory in the 1930 Le Mans 24-hour race. Continued...</s>	1,907
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] This model of 4 1/2 litre Bentley (1930) ran only once in Grand Prix racing, but on this solitary appearance in the French Grand Prix of 1930 Sir H. R. S. Birkin achieved second place, and although beaten by a 2-litre Type 35 Bugatti, he, in turn, beat a large number of similar models. There is, therefore, every justification for including the Bentley in these articles as one of the links in the chain of motor-racing history. Continued...</s>	1,908
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Amongst vintage cars, the Bentley has ever inspired enthusiasm in its owners and respect in those not so fortunate. Quite a good trade was done up to the war in rebuilding these fine old machines, clothing them in new bodywork and tuning them up to give more than their pristine performance... Although many are still running in their original form, and others have already been rebuilt by enthusiasts either for ordinary touring or for competition work, many may still be picked up fairly cheaply in breakers' yards by those lucky enough to find them. Both those already running old-school Bentleys and the people seeking chassis to rebuild may find these detailed notes on overhauling them of some service. Continued...</s>	1,909
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Birkin himself described his drive at Pau as "'the last of all the big races in which I had any success with the old green Bentleys and the most enjoyable." Furthermore, he said that it was the most interesting and thrilling race in which he had ever taken part. Continued...</s>	1,910
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The article is about the results of nearly a year of spare-time work on a 1927 3-litre Bentley... It's three or four months since an old-type Bentley was featured in this series, and that was a 4 1/2, and no doubt something more about a 3-litre will be looked for, at any rate welcomed. As it happens, I feel a personal interest beyond the ordinary in the sample of 3-litre now described, for, as the present owner mentions, it was through a reference to the car in "The Sport" nearly a year ago that it changed hands. The previous owner was Donald McCullough... Continued...</s>	1,911
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] There arrived in the office one grey evening some time last February a young man (relatively speaking) whose chief interest in life for the moment seemed to consist in "genuine" supercharged ex-Dorothy Paget-Birkin blower Bentleys. He was here quite a long while, delving into past volumes of The Autocar for information about these cars of the 1930s. We got chatting after he had finished his research work — he was hot on the trail of two of these machines that I gathered had been offered to him, and his quest was partly concerned with unearthing sufficient data to establish, if possible, that they were genuine "Birkin cars". It wasn't that he doubted the good faith of those who, apparently, had described them as such, but he wanted "gen" first hand from historical record. Continued...</s>	1,912
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] I have been a regular reader of your journal for many years, and have recently enjoyed the numerous but always interesting references to the grand old Bentleys… May I be forgiven if I feel some pride in at one time possessing what I believe was the No. One 3-litre? I purchased this car second-hand in 1922, or early '23 from Mr. F. G. Clement, who was at the time a member of Gaffikin and Wilkinson, of Dover Street. W. Fortunately I still have a photograph of the car. Continued...</s>	1,913
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Having for many years been a Bentley enthusiast, I follow with great interest the controversies arising from time to time in The Autocar regarding these noble cars. I think I recently observed some sacrilegious suggestions that the bodywork of the old-time Bentleys should be modernised for the post-war period... As a hitherto silent observer 1 must now protest — the bodywork is surely as indispensable as the renowned exhaust note, and is part and parcel of what makes a Bentley a Bentley. Continued...</s>	1,914
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Admittedly a car of appeal to the brand of motorist labelled as the enthusiast, it is doubtful whether any single model of any other make has been the subject of more discussion and adulation than the 3-litre Bentley. It was designed immediately after the end of the last war, and first produced twenty-one years ago. Manufacture of this particular model ceased well over ten years ago, yet still there is ample evidence that it is sought after because it can give something highly individual to the keen owner whose natural inclination is towards a sports car, and because of its astonishing durability. Continued...</s>	1,915
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Your contributor "Vizor" is certainly in error in doubting whether Bentley Motors (1931), Ltd., have ever put modern bodies on the old-type 4 1/2 litre chassis, as he will soon realise if he consults any issue of your excellent journal for any week of 1936. Some time after the new company was formed several 3- and 4 1/2-litre chassis were completely reconditioned and fitted with new bodies, and later still complete cars were built up from the very large quantity of spares then in existence. Continued...</s>	1,916
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] When the war came along I entered into various negotiations, which finally resulted in my finding myself in Central Canada. Here I found the attitude to the sports car somewhat remarkable and almost amusing. In fairness, I must say that so far as I know there are only two examples on the road in the whole Dominion of Canada of a good type of sports car and interestingly enough, both of these models were built in the same year and had a very similar performance. One is a 1930 Mercedes-Benz; the other a 1930-1931 4 1/2-litre blower Bentley… The latter I was able to acquire at a very moderate price, for despite its good qualities, this type of car has practically no appeal on the American continent. The average American-Canadian buys a car almost completely for its appearance, its height (so that the owner can always look down on others), and the number of extras and gadgets, which it may boast. Continued...</s>	1,917
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] In immediate succession to last week's 30-98 Vauxhall, I am able to present the promised 3-litre Bentley — counterpart, contemporary, rival, call it what you will; These two descriptions have been on my mind for some time, and next, having been able to give them their share of attention, I will endeavour to cater in turn for those whose/idea of a sports car does not run to machines that have four whopping great cylinders, and are anything up to seventeen or eighteen years old into the bargain. Though what a tribute to their design and construction that latter remark is — and they're British, too! Continued...</s>	1,918
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Prominent amongst the few cars, which have really captured the affections of the Brooklands crowd, stands Sir Henry Birkin's great blue single-seater Bentley. Encouraged, no doubt, by the deeds of the supercharged 4 1/2-litre Bentley cars at Le Mans and in Ireland, and inspired by his own traditional role of pacemaker to the opposition, Birkin's obvious choice in his search for a worthy Brooklands mount, able to beat Kaye Don's lap-record of 134.23 m.p.h., was the Blower Bentley. Continued...</s>	1,919
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] Recollections of Life as a "Hand" With the Old Company — the Height of Youthful Ambition Attained by an Enthusiast — "Upon leaving school I entered the works of Bentley Motors, Ltd., at Cricklewood — but that bare statement of the beginning of a career in the motor trade hardly does justice to my feelings at the time. The very name Bentley meant more to me than any other name in the world; for years I had followed the fortunes of the marque and had studied the specifications of the cars (when I should have studied other and duller subjects!), and my enthusiasm was such that I was even known to my schoolfellows by the nickname of "Bentley"." Continued...</s>	1,920
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] It was a coincidence I could not help remarking that a year to the day from meeting Mr. Forrest Lycett and sampling his 8-litre Bentley, I met him again and saw and briefly tried his almost equally well-known 41/2-litre; it had so happened that we had not met in the meantime. The invitation to renew acquaintance with the 4 1/2 — "renew" because, of course, it is a car one has seen competing — was of some standing. That machine had stood in London since September 1939, and was indeed fortunate to have come unscathed through last winter. Continued...</s>	1,921
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] I am surprised to learn that supercharged Bentleys were competing in 1928, but agree with Mr. Bennett that, generally speaking, large and especially heavy cars are relatively slow over road circuits. In this connection the 8-litre Bentley's Shelsley time of 44.08 secs. may be dismissed as a "potted" effort on the part of car and driver which could not be sustained throughout the length of a race… Whether or not the manufacturers regarded the 8-litre Bentley as fast a road car as the supercharged 4 1/2-litre is an inside secret. Personally, in view of its 12-ft. wheelbase, I would say they did not, but the point is immaterial, for the 8-litre was not in production at the time of the events mentioned. Indeed, it did not make its debut until after Bentleys' officially announced retirement from racing. (F. Lycett) Continued...</s>	1,922
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Just about two years ago I had a motoring experience, which really merited that oft-misused word "unforgettable." I joined Forrest Lycett for a Brooklands test of his 8-litre Bentley, a car known, I suppose, to every enthusiast who is familiar with English speed trials and hill-climbs. During the course of the afternoon, times were recorded which had never been equalled by any other car which The Motor has road-tested. Continued...</s>	1,923
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] In 1930 Bentley had won the 24-hour race of the l'Automobile Club de l'Ouest three times in succession, but they were making every effort to improve upon this record and to secure their fourth victory. To this end, no fewer than six cars were entered. The works team was three 6 1/2 litre six-cylinder models driven by Barnato-Kidston, Davis-Dun fee and Clement-Watney. Backing them up were three 4 1/2 litre supercharged models then owned by the Hon. Dorothy Paget, which had been built at Sir Henry Birkin's place at Welwyn Garden City. The drivers of these cars were Birkin-Chassagne, Jack Dunfee-J. D. Benjafield and Harcourt Wood-G. Ramponi. Continued...</s>	1,924
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] A 20-year pictorial summary.</s>	1,925
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] To be prominent amongst the large cars at Olympia: the new 8-litre Bentley. The engine is a fine six-cylinder unit with an overhead camshaft. A feature of the transmission is a novel, silent four-forward gearbox.</s>	1,926
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The 8-litre Bentley has the largest engine of any British car.</s>	1,927
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] A Bentley for 55 guineas. There is quite obviously a whole story in that for the enthusiast interested in this type of car. This 1923 3-litre short-chassis Bentley is the oldest car yet taken out, and has the highest mileage to its credit, yet the mechanical condition was a wonderful tribute to the workmanship and materials. Continued...</s>	1,928
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Some cars are in a class apart. To own them is a sheer joy, available, alas! to only a limited few whose pockets are deep enough. The performance that they give varies according to the type of machine. It is said that money can buy anything. In the car world it can buy superlative performance, or sheer luxury, or a combination of the two. Continued...</s>	1,929
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A car such as the supercharged Bentley is a distinctly unusual subject for a used-car test, but this model was suggested by H. M. Bentley and Partners, 3 Hanover Court, London, who specialise in this make, for they have confidence in what is generallv termed the blower car… Clearly, it was a machine, which would appeal only to a certain limited type of owner, and the car must be approached from that angle, which to some extent is bound to shape one's judgment of it. Continued...</s>	1,930
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] Two things stick in my mind about the 1933 Monte Carlo Rally -- the complete lack of trouble during the run and the intense cold… From my point of view, I can truthfully say that never have I done a more peaceful competition in any vehicle… It may be of interest to give a few details of the machine. The engine… was fitted into a 1925 long chassis 3-litre Bentley. The body was the same age -- a fabric Freestone and Webb saloon. Continued...</s>	1,931
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] After nearly four years, and probably hard years at that, the "4½ litre" Bentley which is the subject of this report had lost none of the marque's very real personality, and power developed by the four-cylinder engine, combined with the general feeling of sturdiness, seemed to give the car complete and easy mastery over other machines met with in a run. Continued...</s>	1,932
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] This car was bought new in 1931 as a chassis but the parts were mainly machined in 1930, so it is now some thirty years of age. Fitted with a two-seater body it was used in the beginning for long-distance Continental touring but, from the mid-thirties onwards, when the owner was already over 50, it began to play an increasingly prominent part in the many short sprints which were a strong feature of most competitions at that time. Fired with the desire to excel, Lycett had many modifications made by the late McKenzie and eventually the complete car weighed less than the original chassis; engine output had been raised by over a third, and braking and general road holding considerably improved. Continued...</s>	1,933
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] As was first announced in The Motor last Tuesday, the eagerly awaited six-cylinder Bentley chassis of medium rating made its debut towards the end of last week, and is now available at a price of £1,225. This entirely new chassis is a joy to behold, so excellent is its design and so fine the workmanship which it displays. Few cars of this calibre are being built nowadays. Continued...</s>	1,934
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] When a concern of the standing of Bentley Motors, Ltd., produces a new model, it is something of an event. It is, moreover, an event which indirectly interests all motorists, for although the new chassis falls in a price class which is primarily of direct interest to comparatively only a few, nevertheless it embodies all that is latest in design, all is modern in construction, and, as such, it introduces features which may be widely followed in later years, even on quantity-production cars selling at a tenth of the price. Continued...</s>	1,935
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] While the 4½ litre Bentley is of the sports class, it is tractable and quiet; in acceleration it fulfils the driver's wishes at once… The engine is like that of the former 3-litre model. There are four cylinders and each has four valves. Thus the seating area is increased by half and the cooling surface is greater, while the hammering effect is reduced by two valves with lighter springs than could be used were the valves single. The camshaft is overhead and is driven vertically with adjustment for the gear-mesh. The lubrication is forced, except to the pistons and gudgeon pins, which are oiled by splash. Continued...</s>	1,936
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The 6-cylinder 6½ litre Bentley is a fast but refined top-speed car and has been designed to meet the demand for a chassis that shall be quiet, flexible, and capable of high speeds over long distances… The machine submitted for test was a five-seater tourer, with a wheelbase of 12ft. 7 1/4in., and weighed, without load, 2 tons 5 cwt. The greatest interest lies in the engine, and especially the valve mechanism and its drive, and also in the vehicle's running. Continued...</s>	1,937
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] At the time of the Olympia Show the 8-litre Bentley was introduced in such a way as to stress to the full the fact that it was designed to be that rather mysterious type of vehicle which is generally known as a town carriage; and undoubtedly a great many people who listened to that announcement went away under the impression that performance was the very last thing on which the car based its claim to consideration — so much so that certain people undoubtedly believed that the performance was sacrificed to obtain other possibilities. Continued...</s>	1,938
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The word "unique" is sadly overworked; so much so that people have fallen into the error of coupling it with qualifications such as "very" or "almost." The dictionary definition is as follows: "single in its kind of excellence." In this sense and without qualification the new 8-litre Bentley is a unique car… The top-gear speed range of which this car is capable with closed coachwork is in itself very unusual, the figures being a minimum of 6 m.p.h. and a maximum of 104 m.p.h. Additionally, the car runs very quietly, is docile and flexible in traffic, holds the road admirably and Is possessed of exceedingly good brakes. Continued...</s>	1,939
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] On the Bentley stand the centre of interest is obviously the new 8-litre six-cylinder, the biggest British car and the latest design of a firm which, more than any other, has carried the British colours to success in open and international competition. Continued...</s>	1,940
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A great deal is expected of any Bentley, simply and wholly because of the name and because of the manner in which that name has been gained. But it is interesting for a moment, in dealing with the supercharged 4½ litre, to regard the car from an angle quite apart from the speed, and see what its advantages are in other directions. Continued...</s>	1,941
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] For some weeks rumour has been busy with the name Bentley in connection with a new chassis. We are now able to give the first details and illustration of this 1931 model in the following preliminary announcement. A more extensive description will appear in a later issue of The Motor… In designing the new chassis the aim of the Bentley engineers has been to secure an exceptional degree of refinement, silence and comfort. Continued...</s>	1,942
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Le Mans this year provided more thrills than it has ever done in the past. Indeed, I am not sure that it was not the most exciting race of any kind to be held for at least five years… The bonnet was never lifted, throughout the race, on No. 4, the winning Bentley — a wonderful testimony to the engine's reliability. Continued...</s>	1,943
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] This year the race took on an entirely fresh character. So far Bentleys have had it all their own way for a number of years. The result was that few foreign makes could be persuaded to race against them, and a sort of inferiority complex germinated in the minds of the French, although the race was held in their country. "Why enter," they would ask, "when Bentleys are sure to win? They are unbeatable on the Sarthe circuit!" Continued...</s>	1,944
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Considering this car has seen three and a half years of service, and that the speedometer recorded more than 30,000 miles, the mechanical condition of the machine was a tribute to Bentley workmanship. The rear wheel, when jacked up, had as little as 1 1/4in. of travel at the tyre, with the gear lever in first, while at the front axle no wear at all could be detected. The wheel bearings had no shake, nor was there any perceptible play in the steering connections. Continued...</s>	1,945
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The recipe is as follows: Take a sturdy chassis, install an engine rated at 25 h.p., add a supercharger, fit an open body, wings and windscreen, and make the complete vehicle have a speed range of from 9 m.p.h. to 103 m.p.h. on top gear. Do all these things and you will have arrived about half-way towards the achievement which the 4½ litre Bentley represents. Only half-way, because you have yet to make your car its equal as regards other important attributes, such as road-holding, gear-changing, steering and braking... Continued...</s>	1,946
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] In view of their successes in sporting events during the current year it is not really surprising that Bentley Motors, Ltd., should have decided that but few changes are necessary for 1930 in their 4½ litre and "Big Six" chassis. The previous range is, however, to be extended by marketing the supercharged 4½ litre chassis of the type used by Capt. Birkin in the Double Twelve-hour event at Brooklands and at the Dublin and Belfast races. The chassis price of this model has been fixed at £1,475. Continued...</s>	1,947
<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Beautiful workmanship, magnificent driving and, above all, the most minute preparation enabled the Bentley team to pull off the double victory. For this year, not content with covering the biggest distance in the 4 hours, a Bentley also won the final of the race on a cylinder-capacity handicap basis. Moreover, on the score of distance, three other Bentleys were respectively second, third and fourth, and they finished together, crossing the finishing line like a squadron of battleships in "line-ahead." Continued...</s>	1,948
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] It is additionally interesting that so big a machine as the 44-litre Bentley, already capable of a high performance, should be provided with even more performance by supercharging. It is obvious, of course, that the demand for these cars lies at present more in the sports world than with the average motorist, which is not to say that future experiments will not disclose the value of the supercharger in some form or another for the needs of everyday motorists. It is no secret that experiments have been carried out for a very long time with 4½ litre Bentleys and a supercharger, and it is no new and untested machine, therefore, which is taking its place in the range of models. Continued...</s>	1,949
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The 24-hour race for the Rudge-Whitworth Cups look place at Le Mans, in the Department of the Sarthe, France. It began at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 16th, and finished at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 17th. The cars, which were of touring type, were, with slight alterations, production models, and were required to average a certain performance according to their engine capacity. The vehicle which covered the greatest excess mileage was the winner, although a cup was also given for the greatest distance covered in the 24 hours. The distance round the course was 10.7 miles. Continued...</s>	1,950
<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A particularly fine example of the British coachbuilder's art is the beautiful ivory and black fixed cabriolet de ville which is being shown at the Paris Salon by Thrupp and Maberly, Ltd… It has many unique features, a new note being struck by the front wings and undershields which are not only made in one piece, but are so constructed that the automatic side lamps actually form part of the wings, while the undershield, which curves from under the doors to a point well beneath the car, is provided with numerous louvres which do much to improve the appearance of this part of the car. The wings, incidentally, are of the new ribbed type, which are exceedingly attractive. Continued...</s>	1,951
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] To convey in words the precise charm of the 4½ litre Bentley without using an unconvincing wealth of superlatives is a difficult matter; it is a car which must be driven to be appreciated. The way in which it endears itself to the driver after a few hundred miles on the road is due to many remarkable attributes, such as a rocket-like acceleration, a well-nigh perfect driving position, excellent brakes, delightful steering and road-holding extraordinary. Continued...</s>	1,952
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] A special Bentley-Smith carburetter for the standard cars, differing in many respects from the ordinary Smith, is used. In this the control to make starting easier in cold weather and also admit extra air does not block up two of the choke tubes as is usual, but raises a sleeve, entirely cutting off the air from the slow-running jet. To start, therefore, it is important to close the hand throttle completely and then cut off the air for the slow-running jet. When the engine has started the control must, of course, be returned to normal position; the extra air, on the other hand, should not be kept open the whole time if the car is on full throttle and maximum power is required. Continued...</s>	1,953
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Before discussing the adjustment of the components of the three-litre Bentley chassis, it is as well to mention that the manufacturers maintain an admirably organised service depot to relieve owners of Bentley cars from the need to effect anything more than the ordinary small adjustments of every day running. It may be argued that the owner of a car in, say, the north of England could not benefit from a depot near Hendon, N.W., and the answer to this is that the depot will come to him, as a member of the staff with the necessary tools and spares is often sent long distances immediately on receipt of a call for assistance. Continued...</s>	1,954
<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] With a performance to satisfy the most critical speedman, coupled with a degree of flexibility unusual in a sports car, the 1926 three-litre speed model Bentley shows a distinct improvement over the very fine sports automobiles that have hitherto left the Cricklewood works. Not only is the new car faster by some 10 m.p.h. than the 1925 type, but acceleration has been improved, while the brakes are still more efficient than of yore. Continued...</s>	1,955
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The much-disputed record for the 24 hours is once again held by a British car. Capt. John F. Duff, driving his privately owned 15.9 h.p. three-litre Bentley succeeded in covering no less than 2,280.69 miles in the 24 hours at Montlhery track… Some idea of his terrific feat may be gathered when it is recalled that in the course of a day and a night he has covered a distance almost equivalent to six times the journey from London to Edinburgh. His average speed for the entire distance was 95.026 m.p.h., eight miles an hour faster than the average of Garfield and Plessier, driving the big six-cylinder 45 h.p. Renault. Continued...</s>	1,956
<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] ...Upon examining the car, one is struck by the comfort and roominess of the bodywork, which has been attained on a chassis of short wheelhase. The body sides are high, affording adequate protection, and both front and rear seats are of comfortable shape and dimensions. In order to increase the body space, the steering column has been shortened to the extent of 3 ins., and is less steeply raked than in other 3-litre Bentley models; consequently, it has been found possible to shorten the scuttle and move the dash farther forward. The body does not overhang at the back, and the whole car has a well balanced and pleasing appearance set off by the handsome lines of the well-known Bentley radiator and tapering bonnet. Continued...</s>	1,957
<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Far from being competitive with the famous four-cylinder 3-litre Bentley, the new chassis is intended to carry full-size coachwork and is a high-powered job with a six-cylinder engjne of about 6 1/2 litres capacity. While the design is entirely new in one sense, in general principles it follows the lines, which have been found so successful in the case of the 3-litre model. Continued...</s>	1,958

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Resolved: to get to the end of this page firmlv resisting the temptation to wamble off about the Great Green Cars at Le Mans and, if possible, without committing more than a score or so of the great green clichés that bewitch one's typing finger at the very thought of a Blower 4 1/2. Continued...</s>

1,859

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The Bentley Club's Silverstone meeting last Saturday was the ideal of what a club show should be. The very fact that the normal crowd of paying spectators were banned made it a purely friendly and very personal affair reminiscent of the best days of old Brooklands. Continued...</s>

1,860

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Nothing unique about the title you might say but this trip took place sixty summers ago, just before that last great unpleasantness known as World War 11. It was undertaken in 1939 by four intrepid young men, undergraduates at Clare College, Cambridge. At that time the 4 1/2 was owned by one of them, now retired Brigadier AG Heywood CBE, LVO, MC, who lives today in the beautiful Doverill Valley in South West Wiltshire. Continued...</s>

1,861

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] My first intensive phase of vintage motoring came to an end on 19 February 1953 when, having cashed the (uncrossed) Postal Order representing the Queen's Shilling, I arrived at Gibraltar Barracks, Bury St Edmunds, in a Bentley driven by Father. For a few seconds — while I disembarked and said goodbye outside the entrance — I commanded some reverence, but it quickly evaporated when I explained my mission. Continued...</s>

1,862

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Father had moved from a 4½-litre Bentley to the 6½ and now, fancying an 8, acquired GY7850. Well, in those days, the road tax was 25/- per horse-power (RAC rating) and the 8-litre was rated at 45.01hp, which made the annual tax £56/5/- or £15/9/5d per quarter. Continued...</s>

1,863

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] OX 6934 was a 1928 4½ litre Bentley and, although it had no body, petrol was unobtainable, and he didn't know how to drive it, Father forked out £125 and the chassis was pushed round into The Lane and into our garage... Continued...</s>

1,864

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] It was most enjoyable to be out in a real motor-car again and to be able to say I had been driving a Bentley at Brooklands! This brief backwards glimpse provided a firm reminder of the unassailable position occupied by the 3-litre Bentley some fifty years ago. Our 1942 account was published just after John Duffs victory at Le Mans, and apart from a later Editor of MOTOR SPORT deciding that in 1926 there was no comparable sporting car, another well-known motoring writer, whose mother bought a new 3-litre, has pointed out that people are apt to forget, now that the 3-litre is a vintage car, what a stupendous reputation it had in its heyday. Continued...</s>

1,865

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Bentley cars of the 1920s have been called many things in various countries. For example, "classic", "Cricklewood" W.O. Bentleys, but today the title Vintage Bentley is almost universally used and understood.</s>

1,866

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] One day Mr. Tyreshoes told Father that he knew of a 6½-litre Bentley - "It's at Old Thoday's place, at Jack's Hill". Father couldn't resist this, and off they went. Jack's Hill is on the old A1 at Stevenage, and Jack's Hill Cafe was a favourite stopping off point for hungry travellers, especially late at night... Continued...</s>

1,867

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] Among new models none will cause greater interest at the Show than the 8-litre Bentley, the latest addition to that make's range. Continued...</s>

1,868

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The general conception of the 3-litre Bentley was forming in the mind of its creator before the end of World War I. W.O.'s idea was to produce a very fast motor-car, on the principle of a racing-car detuned as it were, by building into it enough strength and weight to ensure reliability and durability in the hands of private owners, as pooposed to "hotting-up " an ordinary car to the point where it became unreliable. Continued...</s>

1,869

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] In March, 1941, I discovered a 1924 "Speed Model" Bentley (Chassis No. 443) in Poona, but owing to having on the previous day purchased by wire to Delhi a 1935 Lancia "Dilambda" sports tourer, funds did not permit of buying and maintaining a second car. However, in due course No. 443 was purchased by a friend of mine for about £30, and though the bodywork was rough, mechanically the car was in very sound order. Its big snag was the old-type wheels fitted with 820 by 120 tyres for which, search as we might, and did, we were never able to find the much-needed spares. This car was driven to Delhi by two friends, the time taken being two and a half days. I was to have been the third driver for this interesting trip but, unfortunately, was removed to hospital with paratyphoid a few days before we were due to start. Continued...</s>

1,870

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] The first intimation of the existence of CK 8172 was when my friend and colleague, John Hay, returned from a deviously-routed official journey with the news that a quaint Bentley, believed to be a 3-litre, was residing in a breaker's yard at Bradford. A journey was obviously imperative, so we went to hold an inquest on the remains, and found the engine and gearbox complete and apparently undamaged... Continued...</s>

1,871

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Whether it happens to be their ideal or not, enthusiasts cannot overlook the satisfaction of a drive in a Bentley of the old school. Recently we were able to cover rather less than 100 miles in a rather unusual 4 1/2-litre and definitely the appeal was there… Continued...</s>

1,872

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The invitation to go out in Forrest Lycett's 8-litre last month, before the famous car is stored for an indefinite period in some warm, safe garage, was accepted with as much keen anticipation as if we had never been in the car before, for motoring of this calibre is quite unique, and particularly so in these disturbed times. The 8-litre is accepted in most circles as the highest-performance road car in existence, and even those who should know it better are heard to express the opinion that it is a very considerably hotted-up version of the Bentley marque. Continued...</s>

1,873

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] In the following article Peter Robertson-Roger gives some hitherto unpublished information about his two supercharged, 4 1/2-litre Bentleys. They were No. 1 and 4 of the late Sir Henry Birkin's famous team, which was financed by the Hon. Dorothy Paget, and raced during the 1929-31 seasons. Continued...</s>

1,874

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] When Peter Clark said "she's rather good, as 'Blue Labels' go" and told us what she has cost him we realised that here was a unique opportunity to discover just what a sound but not abnormal 3-litre Bentley can do. Albeit, in matters of layout and equipment, Peter's car is distinctly individualistic. What she actually represents is a very late series "Blue Label" vintage 1928-29 with the original fabric saloon body replaced by cut-about sports two-seater carriage work... Continued...</s>

1,875

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] So many readers are interested in the Bentley marque, and as every owner of an old-school Bentley we meet seems to enthusiastically read Motor Sport we feel that some notes on improving the performance of the old-model Bentleys may prove of interest. We are indebted to Mr. L. G. McKenzie, the well known Rolls-Royce and Bentley specialist, for the information that follows. Continued...</s>

1,876

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] The first car to catch our eye was a special 1982 8-litre Bentley modified for a friend of the late Sir Henry Birkin and fitted with a Corsica four-seater open body designed by McKenzie expressly to meet this client's requirements. This is a truly imposing motor-car… Another interesting McKenzie Bentley is a 4-litre chassis with the 8-litre braking system and a 6 1/2-litre Speed Six engine. Mr. McKenzie has a 4 1/2-litre Bentley of his own which is subjected to experimental modification in the interests of clients, and which he drove in the Bentley Drivers' Handicap at Brooklands last year. Continued...</s>

1,877

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Because few people can these days afford an annual tax of £28 10s., and a consumption of fuel exceeding 1,000 gallons for a moderate year's motoring, the Big Six Bentley is available secondhand for extremely low sums. Nevertheless, it is ever an interesting study to the enthusiast, who may even contemplate-limiting his annual mileage and perhaps licensing only for half the year, to enable him to experience the joys of owning a really big-engined aristocrat that invariably carries its age lightly. Continued...</s>

1,878

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] In pre-war days if you wanted to go fast, you bought a car with a large engine, and the speed you achieved depended largely on how much chassis space you were prepared to sacrifice to the all-important motor. Engine power, braking systems and road-holding have been vastly improved since those far-off days, but the principle still remains the same, and the Bentley which forms the subject of this article came as a refreshing interlude in the stream of small high revving cars which have become almost universal nowadays. Continued...</s>

1,879

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The name of Bentley was by no means unknown in the racing world before the first car bearing it ever made its appearance. All followers of the sport in pre-War days remembered "W.O." on his little D.F.P. in the 1914 T.T., and the plucky performance which he put up. When, therefore, directly after the war it became known that he was going to produce a sports car of his own, interest was thoroughly aroused. Continued...</s>

1,880

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] To many the book will come as a surprise. Their knowledge of Sir Henry will be confined to seeing him hurtling (there is no other word for it) round Brooklands Track in the single-seater Bentley, or driving with polished brilliance at Belfast or Le Mans in Bentleys and Alfa Romeos. To them the thrill of speed and driving skill appears to in his chief concern, and whether he is driving at home or abroad, in an English car or a foreign machine, does not seem to matter so long as he has a good drive. Continued...</s>

1,881

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] When a firm starts to make motor cars, and with its first model springs into a position in the automobile world unattained by any of its rivals, there must be something more than usually remarkable about that model. Such was the case of the famous 3-litre Bentley which brought its name to the position of being a household word among motorists, and which has made history both on its own, and on behalf of the motor industry of this country. Continued...</s>

1,882

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] When Bentleys first introduced the supercharged edition of their famous 4 1/2-litre model, a number of prospective owners of this type of car held back from purchase until they had seen how the car performed in the chief racing events of the season… Continued...</s>

1,883

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] To the man who wants the best, price is not of such vital importance and the connoisseurs, whose number is increasing, will always be prepared to purchase such a car as the 6 1/2-litre Bentley… The most striking thing about this model is the amazing quality of silence at all speeds. One naturally expects a 6-cylinder to be flexible but there are few, which combine flexibility and silence with such an excellent performance… Continued...</s>

1,884

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The writer went to the 1926 show without a bias of any description but simply requiring a genuine sports car, which would have the wearing qualities of a staid tourer. The number of suitable vehicles, however, was soon narrowed down and a road test gave the decision in favour of the 3-litre Bentley... About this time, following their success at Le Mans, Bentleys put their famous 4 1/2-litre on the market, and having obtained such good service from the 3-litre we decided to sample one of the new models. A trial was followed by arranging a part exchange with Jack Withers, and we duly became the owner of a 4 1/2-litre, not without a tinge of regret at parting from our faithful first Bentley. Continued...</s>

1,885

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] One of the finest road races ever staged on the Continent or anywhere else was run over the Sarthe circuit at Le Mans, on the 16th and 17th of June. The Sixth Grand Prix of Endurance and Twenty-Four Hour Race proved again a triumph for British cars, and what was probably the finest exhibition of driving and doggedness ever seen over this course was put up by an Englishman on an English car - Capt. H. R. S. Birkin, on the Bentley No. 3. Continued...</s>

1,886

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] The victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race by a 3-litre Bentley is one of which all concerned may feel pretty proud. In England we are able to have no road races at all, and there is nowhere in the country where a race can be held for 24 hours. In spite of this, an English car can go abroad and beat all comers in a race under conditions which our more fortunate continental friends can be much more intimately acquainted with. Continued...</s>

1,887

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Great Britain, represented by three Bentleys, experienced very bad luck in not putting up a better show in this event, held at Le Mans on June 12th and 13th... All three Bentleys performed very well, but two experienced mechanical trouble after 12 and 18 hours respectively... Continued...</s>

1,888

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] It was the result of a conversation with Mr. Hillstead, of Bentley Motors, Ltd., during the course of which he enthused about the staying powers of the Bentley car, that I conceived the idea of going for the "double-twelve" record, at that time the accepted "Supreme Test" of endurance. Continued...</s>

1,889

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] This, the greatest race for cars in touring trim, took place at Le Mans, starting at 4 p.m. on June 20th, 1925, and finishing 24 hours later... Arriving at the circuit six days before the race, one was immediately impressed by the forward state of the preparations, and, although the course was never officially closed, practice was proceeding more or less continuously night and day; one fears that the people whose houses abutted on the circuit enjoyed but little sleep during this period, as most of the cars engaged had open exhausts, silencing regulations being noticeable by their absence. Continued...</s>

1,890

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The sporting car, as a class, has characteristically more distinction than that possessed by touring types. Being essentially out of the ordinary, and representing the result of concentration upon a design intended to emphasise particular motoring qualities, the sporting car usually has quite an individuality of its own. Some sporting cars, of course, are much more conventional than others; whilst there are those which seem to stand quite apart from orthodox standards... In the latter category one may place the three-litre Speed Model Bentley. This car embodies all the qualities which one has come to consider essential in a sporting car. In addition, it has features and characteristics quite its own. Continued...</s>

1,891

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Considerable interest is naturally centred upon the supercharged 4 1/2-litre car which makes its first appearance at this Show, though it has already behind it a remarkable history in the competition world... After its introduction last year the 6 1/2-litre six-cylinder speed model appears in revised form. It is the type of car, which won the Le Mans 24-hour Race this year... Continued...</s>

1,892

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Racing, particularly the long-distance variety, is not always solely a matter of driving and making the best of the car's performance. There is always the unexpected mechanical incident, the burst tyre or the minor failure which calls for rapid work and judgment on the part of driver and mechanic. These pictures by The Motor photographers, show some of the "Blower Bentley Boys" tackling such jobs in French sunshine and in British rain. Continued...</s>

1,893

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] The car was built in 1929 and first raced in the Double-Twelve of that year, Dudley Benjafield and myself driving. After three hours, when well in the lead, we had the misfortune to break the dynamo coupling. It was impossible to repair the coupling at the pits, so the dynamo was removed and put in the back of the car and we went on, soon regaining the lead. The stewards, however, after due deliberation decided we were contravening the rules of running without the dynamo working and in position and compelled us to retire. Continued...</s>

1,894

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Writing recently upon that evergreen topic, old-type Bentleys. Mr. P. Willcox invited my opinion of the Speed Six vis-a-vis the 8-litre. Frankly, the former struck me always as a fortuitously successful improvisation, coming as it did of tainted stock — the standard 6 1/2 litre. Weak frames and cross-members, coupled with harsh suspension, huge wheels, and a high centre of gravity, rendered fast wet-road driving and braking an adventure. Continued...</s>

1,895

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] For Bentley enthusiast R.G. Baillie, the acquisition of a 3-litre became a dream of his from the moment when he first saw the Bentley at the 1921 Motor Show, but it was many years before that dream was realised. As a matter of interest, the Bentley was originally shown at Olympia, in 1919, the first Motor Show after the 1918 Armistice. It appeared then as a chassis only, but in 1920 a complete car was on view, in the White City section of the Show, with an all-weather body, forming the only exhibit on the stand. Continued...</s>

1,896

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] It is interesting to have the 4-litre Bentley recalled by a reader who served his apprenticeship with and was employed by the "old" Bentley Company. Possibly many enthusiasts have gotten that there ever was such a model. It appeared in the spring of the very year (1931) in which the original firm went out of business, that is, just before the acquisition of the name by Rolls-Royce. Thus the 4-litre was short lived as a model; in fact, it scarcely passed the experimental stage, and even appeared to have been put on the market prematurely. The design shared certain features of that great car, in every sense of the word, the 8-litre. Continued...</s>

1,897

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A novel angle on a vintage Bentley is given by a Canadian enthusiast's description of how he found a supercharged 4 1/2-litre in the U.S.A. a year or two before the war and thoroughly reconditioned it with the assistance of a number of equally enthusiastic friends. This Canadian, W. K. Johnson, is known to a good many members of the sporting fraternity here. He has been in England for the greater part of the war years, and has been present at most of the enthusiasts' gatherings held at the Rembrandt Hotel. Continued...</s>

1,898

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The great prestige still enjoyed by the 3-litre Bentley today regarded as typical of the Vintage sports car, makes one forget that when first introduced at the Olympia Show of 1919 it was, in fact, a production-model racing car laid out on full Grand Prix lines... Continued...</s>

1,899

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Imagine the living quarters of an ordinary stable in a still more ordinary mews made into a workshop. In the centre of the floor on a sturdy cradle, stands a four-cylinder engine; it is new and polished, and very impressive. A small group of people is assembled. A man of medium height, dark, and rather thick-set, is patiently waiting with one hand on a plunger-type starter switch, while an assistant floods the carburetter. Continued...</s>

1,900

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The immediate subject is 3-litre Bentley, and it is introduced on this occasion by A. F. Rivers Fletcher, who at one time was with the original Bentley Company. He writes of a late example of 3-litre belonging to a disabled enthusiast, Brian Ashworth... Continued...</s>

1,901

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The present Bentley description deals with a 4 1/2-litre owned by J. Northway, at Bristol. He still has the car, up on blocks for the rest of the war. As usual, modifications have been made, the engine having been expertly rebuilt not long before the war, and fitted with special pistons, plus tuning. It seems to have had as a result useful extra performance over an ordinary 4 1/2. The production car, nicely run-in, was good for about 92 m.p.h., but this example, the owner tells us, could get within sight of the 100 on a recalibrated speedometer. Again as usual, he would like to know more than he does at present of its past history. Continued...</s>

1,902

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Read about the 7th Grand Prix d-Endurance 24 hour international road race at Le Mans 15th and 16th June 1929 — won for the fourth time at record speed, and thrice consecutively by Bentley cars.</s>

1,903

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] In describing the racing career of Capt. Woolf ("Babe") Barnato, the historian is impeded by the seeming ease with which he brought off his wins. His run of successes was marred by no crash and scarcely an incident, a marked contrast to the previous Bentley deeds at Le Mans between the initial victory in 1924 and the fantastic win by Old No 7 after the White House crash in 1927. Continued...</s>

1,904

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Here is what J.G. Fry says about the 3-4 1/2 litre hybrid: "Recipe: take a good 3-litre Red Label Bentley chassis, mix in a good 4 1/2 litre engine gear box, and transmission and add a light two-seater body with accessories to taste. The result is a motorcar, which while still retaining a good vintage flavour, possesses a performance equalled by few other machines even of the most modern and expensive type..." Continued...</s>

1,905

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Bentleys have been remarkable not only for their fame as a marque but also for the number of individually well-known cars made by the company. Two with outstanding records are shown in these pictures taken by members of "The Motor" photographic staff. Here is Forrest Lycett's remarkable eight-litre competing at Lewes in 1935... Continued...</s>

1,906

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The notes upon this car that follow are not in the more usual form from an actual owner, he being a person unknown at the moment. They come from A. F. Rivers Fletcher, who, as he described in an article published some time ago in The Autocar, was with the old Bentley firm during the racing era. He was fortunate enough to encounter the Speed Six which that redoubtable pair of "Bentley Boys", Woolf Barnato and Glen Kidston, drove to victory in the 1930 Le Mans 24-hour race. Continued...</s>

1,907

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] This model of 4 1/2 litre Bentley (1930) ran only once in Grand Prix racing, but on this solitary appearance in the French Grand Prix of 1930 Sir H. R. S. Birkin achieved second place, and although beaten by a 2-litre Type 35 Bugatti, he, in turn, beat a large number of similar models. There is, therefore, every justification for including the Bentley in these articles as one of the links in the chain of motor-racing history. Continued...</s>

1,908

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Amongst vintage cars, the Bentley has ever inspired enthusiasm in its owners and respect in those not so fortunate. Quite a good trade was done up to the war in rebuilding these fine old machines, clothing them in new bodywork and tuning them up to give more than their pristine performance... Although many are still running in their original form, and others have already been rebuilt by enthusiasts either for ordinary touring or for competition work, many may still be picked up fairly cheaply in breakers' yards by those lucky enough to find them. Both those already running old-school Bentleys and the people seeking chassis to rebuild may find these detailed notes on overhauling them of some service. Continued...</s>

1,909

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] Birkin himself described his drive at Pau as "'the last of all the big races in which I had any success with the old green Bentleys and the most enjoyable." Furthermore, he said that it was the most interesting and thrilling race in which he had ever taken part. Continued...</s>

1,910

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The article is about the results of nearly a year of spare-time work on a 1927 3-litre Bentley... It's three or four months since an old-type Bentley was featured in this series, and that was a 4 1/2, and no doubt something more about a 3-litre will be looked for, at any rate welcomed. As it happens, I feel a personal interest beyond the ordinary in the sample of 3-litre now described, for, as the present owner mentions, it was through a reference to the car in "The Sport" nearly a year ago that it changed hands. The previous owner was Donald McCullough... Continued...</s>

1,911

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] There arrived in the office one grey evening some time last February a young man (relatively speaking) whose chief interest in life for the moment seemed to consist in "genuine" supercharged ex-Dorothy Paget-Birkin blower Bentleys. He was here quite a long while, delving into past volumes of The Autocar for information about these cars of the 1930s. We got chatting after he had finished his research work — he was hot on the trail of two of these machines that I gathered had been offered to him, and his quest was partly concerned with unearthing sufficient data to establish, if possible, that they were genuine "Birkin cars". It wasn't that he doubted the good faith of those who, apparently, had described them as such, but he wanted "gen" first hand from historical record. Continued...</s>

1,912

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] I have been a regular reader of your journal for many years, and have recently enjoyed the numerous but always interesting references to the grand old Bentleys… May I be forgiven if I feel some pride in at one time possessing what I believe was the No. One 3-litre? I purchased this car second-hand in 1922, or early '23 from Mr. F. G. Clement, who was at the time a member of Gaffikin and Wilkinson, of Dover Street. W. Fortunately I still have a photograph of the car. Continued...</s>

1,913

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Having for many years been a Bentley enthusiast, I follow with great interest the controversies arising from time to time in The Autocar regarding these noble cars. I think I recently observed some sacrilegious suggestions that the bodywork of the old-time Bentleys should be modernised for the post-war period... As a hitherto silent observer 1 must now protest — the bodywork is surely as indispensable as the renowned exhaust note, and is part and parcel of what makes a Bentley a Bentley. Continued...</s>

1,914

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Admittedly a car of appeal to the brand of motorist labelled as the enthusiast, it is doubtful whether any single model of any other make has been the subject of more discussion and adulation than the 3-litre Bentley. It was designed immediately after the end of the last war, and first produced twenty-one years ago. Manufacture of this particular model ceased well over ten years ago, yet still there is ample evidence that it is sought after because it can give something highly individual to the keen owner whose natural inclination is towards a sports car, and because of its astonishing durability. Continued...</s>

1,915

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Your contributor "Vizor" is certainly in error in doubting whether Bentley Motors (1931), Ltd., have ever put modern bodies on the old-type 4 1/2 litre chassis, as he will soon realise if he consults any issue of your excellent journal for any week of 1936. Some time after the new company was formed several 3- and 4 1/2-litre chassis were completely reconditioned and fitted with new bodies, and later still complete cars were built up from the very large quantity of spares then in existence. Continued...</s>

1,916

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] When the war came along I entered into various negotiations, which finally resulted in my finding myself in Central Canada. Here I found the attitude to the sports car somewhat remarkable and almost amusing. In fairness, I must say that so far as I know there are only two examples on the road in the whole Dominion of Canada of a good type of sports car and interestingly enough, both of these models were built in the same year and had a very similar performance. One is a 1930 Mercedes-Benz; the other a 1930-1931 4 1/2-litre blower Bentley… The latter I was able to acquire at a very moderate price, for despite its good qualities, this type of car has practically no appeal on the American continent. The average American-Canadian buys a car almost completely for its appearance, its height (so that the owner can always look down on others), and the number of extras and gadgets, which it may boast. Continued...</s>

1,917

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] In immediate succession to last week's 30-98 Vauxhall, I am able to present the promised 3-litre Bentley — counterpart, contemporary, rival, call it what you will; These two descriptions have been on my mind for some time, and next, having been able to give them their share of attention, I will endeavour to cater in turn for those whose/idea of a sports car does not run to machines that have four whopping great cylinders, and are anything up to seventeen or eighteen years old into the bargain. Though what a tribute to their design and construction that latter remark is — and they're British, too! Continued...</s>

1,918

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Prominent amongst the few cars, which have really captured the affections of the Brooklands crowd, stands Sir Henry Birkin's great blue single-seater Bentley. Encouraged, no doubt, by the deeds of the supercharged 4 1/2-litre Bentley cars at Le Mans and in Ireland, and inspired by his own traditional role of pacemaker to the opposition, Birkin's obvious choice in his search for a worthy Brooklands mount, able to beat Kaye Don's lap-record of 134.23 m.p.h., was the Blower Bentley. Continued...</s>

1,919

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] Recollections of Life as a "Hand" With the Old Company — the Height of Youthful Ambition Attained by an Enthusiast — "Upon leaving school I entered the works of Bentley Motors, Ltd., at Cricklewood — but that bare statement of the beginning of a career in the motor trade hardly does justice to my feelings at the time. The very name Bentley meant more to me than any other name in the world; for years I had followed the fortunes of the marque and had studied the specifications of the cars (when I should have studied other and duller subjects!), and my enthusiasm was such that I was even known to my schoolfellows by the nickname of "Bentley"." Continued...</s>

1,920

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] It was a coincidence I could not help remarking that a year to the day from meeting Mr. Forrest Lycett and sampling his 8-litre Bentley, I met him again and saw and briefly tried his almost equally well-known 41/2-litre; it had so happened that we had not met in the meantime. The invitation to renew acquaintance with the 4 1/2 — "renew" because, of course, it is a car one has seen competing — was of some standing. That machine had stood in London since September 1939, and was indeed fortunate to have come unscathed through last winter. Continued...</s>

1,921

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] I am surprised to learn that supercharged Bentleys were competing in 1928, but agree with Mr. Bennett that, generally speaking, large and especially heavy cars are relatively slow over road circuits. In this connection the 8-litre Bentley's Shelsley time of 44.08 secs. may be dismissed as a "potted" effort on the part of car and driver which could not be sustained throughout the length of a race… Whether or not the manufacturers regarded the 8-litre Bentley as fast a road car as the supercharged 4 1/2-litre is an inside secret. Personally, in view of its 12-ft. wheelbase, I would say they did not, but the point is immaterial, for the 8-litre was not in production at the time of the events mentioned. Indeed, it did not make its debut until after Bentleys' officially announced retirement from racing. (F. Lycett) Continued...</s>

1,922

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Just about two years ago I had a motoring experience, which really merited that oft-misused word "unforgettable." I joined Forrest Lycett for a Brooklands test of his 8-litre Bentley, a car known, I suppose, to every enthusiast who is familiar with English speed trials and hill-climbs. During the course of the afternoon, times were recorded which had never been equalled by any other car which The Motor has road-tested. Continued...</s>

1,923

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] In 1930 Bentley had won the 24-hour race of the l'Automobile Club de l'Ouest three times in succession, but they were making every effort to improve upon this record and to secure their fourth victory. To this end, no fewer than six cars were entered. The works team was three 6 1/2 litre six-cylinder models driven by Barnato-Kidston, Davis-Dun fee and Clement-Watney. Backing them up were three 4 1/2 litre supercharged models then owned by the Hon. Dorothy Paget, which had been built at Sir Henry Birkin's place at Welwyn Garden City. The drivers of these cars were Birkin-Chassagne, Jack Dunfee-J. D. Benjafield and Harcourt Wood-G. Ramponi. Continued...</s>

1,924

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] A 20-year pictorial summary.</s>

1,925

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] To be prominent amongst the large cars at Olympia: the new 8-litre Bentley. The engine is a fine six-cylinder unit with an overhead camshaft. A feature of the transmission is a novel, silent four-forward gearbox.</s>

1,926

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The 8-litre Bentley has the largest engine of any British car.</s>

1,927

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] A Bentley for 55 guineas. There is quite obviously a whole story in that for the enthusiast interested in this type of car. This 1923 3-litre short-chassis Bentley is the oldest car yet taken out, and has the highest mileage to its credit, yet the mechanical condition was a wonderful tribute to the workmanship and materials. Continued...</s>

1,928

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] Some cars are in a class apart. To own them is a sheer joy, available, alas! to only a limited few whose pockets are deep enough. The performance that they give varies according to the type of machine. It is said that money can buy anything. In the car world it can buy superlative performance, or sheer luxury, or a combination of the two. Continued...</s>

1,929

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A car such as the supercharged Bentley is a distinctly unusual subject for a used-car test, but this model was suggested by H. M. Bentley and Partners, 3 Hanover Court, London, who specialise in this make, for they have confidence in what is generallv termed the blower car… Clearly, it was a machine, which would appeal only to a certain limited type of owner, and the car must be approached from that angle, which to some extent is bound to shape one's judgment of it. Continued...</s>

1,930

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] Two things stick in my mind about the 1933 Monte Carlo Rally -- the complete lack of trouble during the run and the intense cold… From my point of view, I can truthfully say that never have I done a more peaceful competition in any vehicle… It may be of interest to give a few details of the machine. The engine… was fitted into a 1925 long chassis 3-litre Bentley. The body was the same age -- a fabric Freestone and Webb saloon. Continued...</s>

1,931

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] After nearly four years, and probably hard years at that, the "4½ litre" Bentley which is the subject of this report had lost none of the marque's very real personality, and power developed by the four-cylinder engine, combined with the general feeling of sturdiness, seemed to give the car complete and easy mastery over other machines met with in a run. Continued...</s>

1,932

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] This car was bought new in 1931 as a chassis but the parts were mainly machined in 1930, so it is now some thirty years of age. Fitted with a two-seater body it was used in the beginning for long-distance Continental touring but, from the mid-thirties onwards, when the owner was already over 50, it began to play an increasingly prominent part in the many short sprints which were a strong feature of most competitions at that time. Fired with the desire to excel, Lycett had many modifications made by the late McKenzie and eventually the complete car weighed less than the original chassis; engine output had been raised by over a third, and braking and general road holding considerably improved. Continued...</s>

1,933

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] As was first announced in The Motor last Tuesday, the eagerly awaited six-cylinder Bentley chassis of medium rating made its debut towards the end of last week, and is now available at a price of £1,225. This entirely new chassis is a joy to behold, so excellent is its design and so fine the workmanship which it displays. Few cars of this calibre are being built nowadays. Continued...</s>

1,934

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] When a concern of the standing of Bentley Motors, Ltd., produces a new model, it is something of an event. It is, moreover, an event which indirectly interests all motorists, for although the new chassis falls in a price class which is primarily of direct interest to comparatively only a few, nevertheless it embodies all that is latest in design, all is modern in construction, and, as such, it introduces features which may be widely followed in later years, even on quantity-production cars selling at a tenth of the price. Continued...</s>

1,935

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] While the 4½ litre Bentley is of the sports class, it is tractable and quiet; in acceleration it fulfils the driver's wishes at once… The engine is like that of the former 3-litre model. There are four cylinders and each has four valves. Thus the seating area is increased by half and the cooling surface is greater, while the hammering effect is reduced by two valves with lighter springs than could be used were the valves single. The camshaft is overhead and is driven vertically with adjustment for the gear-mesh. The lubrication is forced, except to the pistons and gudgeon pins, which are oiled by splash. Continued...</s>

1,936

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The 6-cylinder 6½ litre Bentley is a fast but refined top-speed car and has been designed to meet the demand for a chassis that shall be quiet, flexible, and capable of high speeds over long distances… The machine submitted for test was a five-seater tourer, with a wheelbase of 12ft. 7 1/4in., and weighed, without load, 2 tons 5 cwt. The greatest interest lies in the engine, and especially the valve mechanism and its drive, and also in the vehicle's running. Continued...</s>

1,937

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] At the time of the Olympia Show the 8-litre Bentley was introduced in such a way as to stress to the full the fact that it was designed to be that rather mysterious type of vehicle which is generally known as a town carriage; and undoubtedly a great many people who listened to that announcement went away under the impression that performance was the very last thing on which the car based its claim to consideration — so much so that certain people undoubtedly believed that the performance was sacrificed to obtain other possibilities. Continued...</s>

1,938

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] The word "unique" is sadly overworked; so much so that people have fallen into the error of coupling it with qualifications such as "very" or "almost." The dictionary definition is as follows: "single in its kind of excellence." In this sense and without qualification the new 8-litre Bentley is a unique car… The top-gear speed range of which this car is capable with closed coachwork is in itself very unusual, the figures being a minimum of 6 m.p.h. and a maximum of 104 m.p.h. Additionally, the car runs very quietly, is docile and flexible in traffic, holds the road admirably and Is possessed of exceedingly good brakes. Continued...</s>

1,939

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] On the Bentley stand the centre of interest is obviously the new 8-litre six-cylinder, the biggest British car and the latest design of a firm which, more than any other, has carried the British colours to success in open and international competition. Continued...</s>

1,940

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A great deal is expected of any Bentley, simply and wholly because of the name and because of the manner in which that name has been gained. But it is interesting for a moment, in dealing with the supercharged 4½ litre, to regard the car from an angle quite apart from the speed, and see what its advantages are in other directions. Continued...</s>

1,941

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] For some weeks rumour has been busy with the name Bentley in connection with a new chassis. We are now able to give the first details and illustration of this 1931 model in the following preliminary announcement. A more extensive description will appear in a later issue of The Motor… In designing the new chassis the aim of the Bentley engineers has been to secure an exceptional degree of refinement, silence and comfort. Continued...</s>

1,942

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Le Mans this year provided more thrills than it has ever done in the past. Indeed, I am not sure that it was not the most exciting race of any kind to be held for at least five years… The bonnet was never lifted, throughout the race, on No. 4, the winning Bentley — a wonderful testimony to the engine's reliability. Continued...</s>

1,943

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] This year the race took on an entirely fresh character. So far Bentleys have had it all their own way for a number of years. The result was that few foreign makes could be persuaded to race against them, and a sort of inferiority complex germinated in the minds of the French, although the race was held in their country. "Why enter," they would ask, "when Bentleys are sure to win? They are unbeatable on the Sarthe circuit!" Continued...</s>

1,944

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Considering this car has seen three and a half years of service, and that the speedometer recorded more than 30,000 miles, the mechanical condition of the machine was a tribute to Bentley workmanship. The rear wheel, when jacked up, had as little as 1 1/4in. of travel at the tyre, with the gear lever in first, while at the front axle no wear at all could be detected. The wheel bearings had no shake, nor was there any perceptible play in the steering connections. Continued...</s>

1,945

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The recipe is as follows: Take a sturdy chassis, install an engine rated at 25 h.p., add a supercharger, fit an open body, wings and windscreen, and make the complete vehicle have a speed range of from 9 m.p.h. to 103 m.p.h. on top gear. Do all these things and you will have arrived about half-way towards the achievement which the 4½ litre Bentley represents. Only half-way, because you have yet to make your car its equal as regards other important attributes, such as road-holding, gear-changing, steering and braking... Continued...</s>

1,946

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] In view of their successes in sporting events during the current year it is not really surprising that Bentley Motors, Ltd., should have decided that but few changes are necessary for 1930 in their 4½ litre and "Big Six" chassis. The previous range is, however, to be extended by marketing the supercharged 4½ litre chassis of the type used by Capt. Birkin in the Double Twelve-hour event at Brooklands and at the Dublin and Belfast races. The chassis price of this model has been fixed at £1,475. Continued...</s>

1,947

<s>[INST] Who are the main participants in the following event? [/INST] Beautiful workmanship, magnificent driving and, above all, the most minute preparation enabled the Bentley team to pull off the double victory. For this year, not content with covering the biggest distance in the 4 hours, a Bentley also won the final of the race on a cylinder-capacity handicap basis. Moreover, on the score of distance, three other Bentleys were respectively second, third and fourth, and they finished together, crossing the finishing line like a squadron of battleships in "line-ahead." Continued...</s>

1,948

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] It is additionally interesting that so big a machine as the 44-litre Bentley, already capable of a high performance, should be provided with even more performance by supercharging. It is obvious, of course, that the demand for these cars lies at present more in the sports world than with the average motorist, which is not to say that future experiments will not disclose the value of the supercharger in some form or another for the needs of everyday motorists. It is no secret that experiments have been carried out for a very long time with 4½ litre Bentleys and a supercharger, and it is no new and untested machine, therefore, which is taking its place in the range of models. Continued...</s>

1,949

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] The 24-hour race for the Rudge-Whitworth Cups look place at Le Mans, in the Department of the Sarthe, France. It began at 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 16th, and finished at 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 17th. The cars, which were of touring type, were, with slight alterations, production models, and were required to average a certain performance according to their engine capacity. The vehicle which covered the greatest excess mileage was the winner, although a cup was also given for the greatest distance covered in the 24 hours. The distance round the course was 10.7 miles. Continued...</s>

1,950

<s>[INST] What event is described in the following response? [/INST] A particularly fine example of the British coachbuilder's art is the beautiful ivory and black fixed cabriolet de ville which is being shown at the Paris Salon by Thrupp and Maberly, Ltd… It has many unique features, a new note being struck by the front wings and undershields which are not only made in one piece, but are so constructed that the automatic side lamps actually form part of the wings, while the undershield, which curves from under the doors to a point well beneath the car, is provided with numerous louvres which do much to improve the appearance of this part of the car. The wings, incidentally, are of the new ribbed type, which are exceedingly attractive. Continued...</s>

1,951

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] To convey in words the precise charm of the 4½ litre Bentley without using an unconvincing wealth of superlatives is a difficult matter; it is a car which must be driven to be appreciated. The way in which it endears itself to the driver after a few hundred miles on the road is due to many remarkable attributes, such as a rocket-like acceleration, a well-nigh perfect driving position, excellent brakes, delightful steering and road-holding extraordinary. Continued...</s>

1,952

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] A special Bentley-Smith carburetter for the standard cars, differing in many respects from the ordinary Smith, is used. In this the control to make starting easier in cold weather and also admit extra air does not block up two of the choke tubes as is usual, but raises a sleeve, entirely cutting off the air from the slow-running jet. To start, therefore, it is important to close the hand throttle completely and then cut off the air for the slow-running jet. When the engine has started the control must, of course, be returned to normal position; the extra air, on the other hand, should not be kept open the whole time if the car is on full throttle and maximum power is required. Continued...</s>

1,953

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Before discussing the adjustment of the components of the three-litre Bentley chassis, it is as well to mention that the manufacturers maintain an admirably organised service depot to relieve owners of Bentley cars from the need to effect anything more than the ordinary small adjustments of every day running. It may be argued that the owner of a car in, say, the north of England could not benefit from a depot near Hendon, N.W., and the answer to this is that the depot will come to him, as a member of the staff with the necessary tools and spares is often sent long distances immediately on receipt of a call for assistance. Continued...</s>

1,954

<s>[INST] Can you provide details about the activities mentioned in the response? [/INST] With a performance to satisfy the most critical speedman, coupled with a degree of flexibility unusual in a sports car, the 1926 three-litre speed model Bentley shows a distinct improvement over the very fine sports automobiles that have hitherto left the Cricklewood works. Not only is the new car faster by some 10 m.p.h. than the 1925 type, but acceleration has been improved, while the brakes are still more efficient than of yore. Continued...</s>

1,955

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] The much-disputed record for the 24 hours is once again held by a British car. Capt. John F. Duff, driving his privately owned 15.9 h.p. three-litre Bentley succeeded in covering no less than 2,280.69 miles in the 24 hours at Montlhery track… Some idea of his terrific feat may be gathered when it is recalled that in the course of a day and a night he has covered a distance almost equivalent to six times the journey from London to Edinburgh. His average speed for the entire distance was 95.026 m.p.h., eight miles an hour faster than the average of Garfield and Plessier, driving the big six-cylinder 45 h.p. Renault. Continued...</s>

1,956

<s>[INST] What details can you share about the following response? [/INST] ...Upon examining the car, one is struck by the comfort and roominess of the bodywork, which has been attained on a chassis of short wheelhase. The body sides are high, affording adequate protection, and both front and rear seats are of comfortable shape and dimensions. In order to increase the body space, the steering column has been shortened to the extent of 3 ins., and is less steeply raked than in other 3-litre Bentley models; consequently, it has been found possible to shorten the scuttle and move the dash farther forward. The body does not overhang at the back, and the whole car has a well balanced and pleasing appearance set off by the handsome lines of the well-known Bentley radiator and tapering bonnet. Continued...</s>

1,957

<s>[INST] What is the main topic of the following response? [/INST] Far from being competitive with the famous four-cylinder 3-litre Bentley, the new chassis is intended to carry full-size coachwork and is a high-powered job with a six-cylinder engjne of about 6 1/2 litres capacity. While the design is entirely new in one sense, in general principles it follows the lines, which have been found so successful in the case of the 3-litre model. Continued...</s>

1,958