W O Bentley s success on the race track at Le Mans, Brooklands, and other events are legendary.

Bentley was one of the manufacturers that dominated racing in the 1920 s.

Starting in 1919 with the 3 Litre, followed by the 6.5 Litre, the 4.5 Litre and finally the 8 Litre, Bentley designed and manufactured race bred reliable machines that were the equivalent of the today s supercars.

Many feel the 4.5 Litre is the most usable of all the models.

It uses the same chassis as the 3 Litre, but has notably more power and is shorter and easier to handle that 6.5 and 8 Litre cars.

Early success in the 1922 Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, when Bentleys finished 2nd, 4th and 5th to take the Team Prize, led to the introduction of the TT Replica (later known as the Speed Model).

However, by the middle of the decade the 3-Litre s competitiveness was on the wane and this, together with the fact that too many customers had been tempted to fit unsuitably heavy coachwork to the excellent 3-Litre chassis...