Classic Cars magazines News Editor, Sam Dawson, has been browsing auction websites and has stumbled across this Bentley Blower, up for sale with Silverstone Auctions at its Salon Prive sale in September. Its got him thinking... For more of Sams writing, see this months edition, where he evaluates the best performance cars of 1984, from Buick Grand National to Ferrari 288 GTO. Meanwhile, over to Sam... A conundrum. Hard though it is to believe, once upon a time Bentleys of the Twenties and Thirties were available with all manner of coachwork, although for some reason (I suspect its a chronic lack of imagination) nowadays pretty-much all of them have Le Mans-replica Van den Plas open-tourer bodies. Much is said about heritage - even immortalisation according to this particular auction catalogue – as though winning Le Mans was all Bentley did in the Twenties. But if you think about it, its like all the worlds Jaguar XK120s being rebodied as dark green C–types, with the only justification being some rambled reverie involving Mike Hawthorn, Eagle magazine and …unquestionably, the golden age…. With this in mind, imagine that youve just bought this one, SM3925, and therefore have squillions to spend on just-about anything. Its beautifully finished, just the thing to take on a long-distance touring rally. But its got the wrong body. Do you keep it like this, knowing that its fake-racer look is at odds with its near-unique smooth-casing supercharger, 4.5-litre engine and heavy chassis, all for refined touring. Or do you get its Freestone & Webb four-door saloon body recommissioned – one of just two built – and own something not only unique, but also As W.O. Intended? Over to you… For more details on this particular car, visit silverstoneauctions
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 14:00:00 +0000
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