Named for its engine, the 6½-Litre model instantly became the most refined car offered by Bentley.

Its revised chassis and greater engine capacity made light work of the heavy limousine bodies favoured by customers of the day and the model became known as a comfortable cruiser.

Its development did not stop there, though, as the marque drew on its racing experience to squeeze even more power from the fearsome straight-six.

At the behest of Woolf Barnato, a performance derivative of the six-cylinder car was devised, which became known as the Speed Six.

Several months of development culminated in a demonstration in late-1928, with the first delivery to Barnato in May 1929.

The example offered here was constructed in 2003 by the noted Bentley specialist David Ayre, as an evocation of the original Speed Six team cars fielded by the Bentley Works squad for the 24-hour race at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930.

Its bodywork is built in the style of Vanden Plas, with the dramatic lightweight fabr...