After a brutal but heroic 8th Place in the 1928 German Grand Prix, Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin was convinced that the Bentley 4 ½ Litre could be substantially more competitive through supercharging.

Alfa Romeo, Bugatti, and Mercedes- Benz were all contenders in international events with blown powerplants, and supercharging appeared to be the key to their success.

W.O.

Bentley, however, was firmly against supercharging his cars.

His racing strategy was based on endurance and reliability, with the result that Bentleys often pushed hard at the onset of a race, forcing the supercharged competitors to break; easy victory then ensued.

In order to make his dream of a supercharged Bentley 4½ Litre a reality, Birkin had to find outside help.

For the supercharger itself, Birkin turned to Amherst Villiers, made famous by the Vauxhall Villiers Special.

Despite W.O.’s opposition to superchargers, Birkin was able to enter an agreement with Villiers and Bentley Motors thanks to the support of Woolf...