Few prewar cars carry the swagger of the Bentley Blower, and Gooding Christie's is bringing an example with Vanden Plas coachwork to its Pebble Beach sale. Chassis MS3927 pairs its original engine, MS3930, with the supercharged four-cylinder setup that made the model a legend at Le Mans and beyond.
The Blower was the brainchild of Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, one of the famed Bentley Boys, who convinced the factory to fit a Roots-type supercharger to the 4½ Litre engine over founder W.O. Bentley's own objections. Bentley preferred to make power through displacement rather than forced induction, but Birkin's backers won out, and just 55 Blowers were built between 1929 and 1931, split between 50 production cars and five factory team cars. The production cars, like this one, carried elegant open touring coachwork from Vanden Plas, a contrast to the raw, race-bred character of the supercharged four-cylinder underneath.
Team Blowers famously never won Le Mans outright, a distinction that went to the more conventional, unsupercharged Bentleys, but the Blower's outlaw reputation only grew over the decades, and genuine examples now rank among the most coveted prewar British cars at auction. Full lot details, including estimate and complete history, are expected to be published closer to the sale. You can follow the listing and register to bid over at Gooding Christie's.
