Bentley 4½ Litre Vanden Plas Le Mans

'The fastest trucks in the world' is what Ettore Bugatti calls the hefty Bentley racing cars that make life difficult for his sleek racers in the 1920s.

Walter Owen Bentley, W.O. for short, was a newcomer to the scene: just a couple of years after completing his first prototype in 1919, the 3-Litre, Bentley made his presence felt in motor racing. Not just for publicity purposes, but also to test his cars to the limit. In 1922 a Bentley made it to the finish in the Indianapolis 500 Mile race, which proved the car’s reliability. The following year, a Bentley finished in fourth place in the first Le Mans 24-hour race, and set a new lap record three times. And then a legend was established: in 1924 a 3-litre Bentley achieved the first of five victories for the marque at Le Mans. A Bentley 4½ Litre, fitted with lightweight fabric sports coachwork by Vanden Plas won Le Mans in 1928. Of this four-cylinder model, introduced in 1927, over 700 cars were built over the next three years, including various factory-built Le Mans replicas for private customers, such as the car on display in the museum.