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Books Models Highlights Cars
of 1998 More Bentleys in these books:
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Car of the Month - June 2005
The Bentley 4½ Litre is one of the most beloved of all English sports cars. In what was then a tiny factory in Willesden (today a London suburb) these cars were handbuilt in small quantity. Thanks to magnificent success in competition within a few short seasons this model built a reputation out of all proportion to the numbers manufactured. It is only fair though to state that, of course, it was one model from the range of Bentley Motor Cars, all of which – from Bentley 3 Litre through Bentley 6½ Litre Speed Six – were tremendously successful in a variety of races and endurance runs.
Arguably the Bentley 4½ Litre was a brilliant compromise amalgameting the finest features of the other models. The basic layout of its four-cylinder in-line-engine was clearly a relative of the four-cylinder engine with but 3 litres capacity. The sturdy gearbox and frame could withstand tremendous stress as well as the 6 ½ Litre could do – without the latter’s disadvantage of being really heavy and thus stressing tyres rather quickly to their limit at high speed and when cornering hard.
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These cars are held in such high esteem by aficionados around the world that even cars that had been sadly neglected for decades are considered as worthy candidates for a complete rebuilt. They don’t consider any work as too difficult or spare parts as too expensive once they have decided to take up the challenge to bring back a Bentley 4½ Litre to its former glory - which is exactly what happened in the case of this Bentley 4½ Litre that impressed with immaculate condition when it appeared at the European Concours d’Elegance in July 2004 in Düsseldorf.
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