Bentley Speed Six

Lore & Background

Two Bentley Speed Sixes chassis became known as the Blue Train Bentleys after their owner Woolf Barnato in March 1930 'raced' the French Blue Train which departed Cannes at 17:45 and, after a stop in Paris, was scheduled to arrive in Calais at 15:24 when Barnato already was in his club in London. In March 1930, Barnato raced against the Blue Train in a Speed Six with H. J. Mulliner saloon coachwork, reaching his club in London before the train was due in the station at Calais. It had generally been believed that the car in the race was a Gurney Nutting Sportsman Coupé, but that car was delivered to Barnato in May 1930, more than a month after the race.

Reader's Guide

The Speed Six chassis was introduced in 1928 as a more sporting version of the Bentley 6½ Litre. With a single-port block, two SU carburettors, a high-performance camshaft, and a compression ratio of 5.3:1, the Speed Six's engine produced 180 hp at 3500 rpm. The Speed Six chassis was available to customers with wheelbases of 138 in, 140.5 in, and 152.5 in. The 138 inch wheelbase was the most popular. The racing version of the Speed Six had a wheelbase of 11 ft and an engine with a compression ratio of 6.1:1 that produced 200 hp at 3500 rpm. Successful in racing, these cars won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 with Bentley Boys drivers 'Tim' Birkin, Glen Kidston, and Woolf Barnato, the chairman of Bentley Motors.

Did You Know?

• The Criminal Investigation Department of the Western Australia Police operated two saloon-bodied Speed Six examples as patrol cars.
• Production of the Speed Six totaled 182 units.