Bentley has built a brand new 1929 Bentley Blower

A 1929 Bentley Blower and the Bentley Blower Continuation Series Car Zero. (Photo courtesy Bentley)

Bentley Motors has announced that it will bring its iconic pre-war vintage racer – the Bentley Blower – out of suspended animation, for a production run limited to 12 (13, if you include the Car Zero prototype). Joining forces, once again, with Mulliner - the legendary British coachbuilder, whose century-old coachbuilding expertise has been deployed by Bentley to create what is called the “Bentley Blower Continuation Series”.

Bentley doesn’t want you to think of these as replicas. No, because the process of creating these models is far more painstaking and intricate, than any vintage replica has ever warranted. To begin with, it has taken Bentley 40,000 hours of work to create Car Zero – the prototype car for the Blower Continuation Series. Bentley has disassembled an original Bentley Blower chassis, then taken individual components and scanned then in 3D to create a digital model of the car, accurate to the last detail. Essentially, every nook and cranny of the original has been laser-scanned and digitally reproduced through a “complete digital CAD model”. Bentley even went as far as using original moulds and tooling instruments, marrying traditional coachbuilding methods with modern techniques. Given that only four original models of the 4 1/2 litre Bentley Blower were produced for Sir Tim Birkin, the disassembled chassis has been reassembled and the actual vintage Blower can be seen clocking miles at Goodwood and Mille Miglia.

The Continuation Series models feature an identical four-cylinder, 16-valve engine with a aluminium crankcase with cast iron cylinder liners and non-detachable cast-iron cylinder head. The supercharger, according to the brand, is an exact replica of the Amherst VIlliers MK IV roots-type supercharger, helping the 4398cc engine to develop 240bhp. Like the original, it even features leaf spring suspension, and has a steel frame, so rest assured, the car hasn’t been modernised to suit contemporary motoring needs. It’s as if the car has resumed production after a century-long lull.

The original Blower Bentley holds a special place in the brand’s history, along with Britain’s literary history. According to the brand, author Ian Fleming was so taken by the speedster – then one of the fastest cars in the world – that he decided it was a fitting companion for a certain fictional M16 agent he was writing about. The Bentley came much before the Aston did. But it was truly immortalised by Sir Tim Birkin, whose idea of supercharging a relatively small 4 ½ litre instead of using a normally aspirated 6 ½ litre engine, saw the original power output go from 130 bhp to 240bhp. This feat of engineering convinced the then chairman of Bentley to produce 55 models, with five Team Blower Bentleys allotted for racing. The car in question is an exact reproduction of those 5.

According to the brand’s official site, it will take Mulliner two years to finish building all 12 cars. For the moment, the brand intends to put the prototype through its paces, with 36,000 km of real-world testing. Everything from the car’s chassis rigidity to its top speeds will be field tested, before work begins on the 12 allotted models. And although the official price remains undisclosed, it should be of some comfort for prospective buyers and oil merchants to know that they’re all spoken for. If you need further proof of the new model’s authenticity, try telling the two apart in the photograph above. These are factory products, just like the original. What Bentley has created isn’t just the most authentic neo-vintage driving experience that money can buy. A freshly minted 1929 racing Bentley? That’s a time machine.