A vintage Bentley single seater set a new auction record when it went under the hammer for £4.5 million at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The 4.5 litre Supercharged 'Blower', which was once raced in record-breaking fashion by Sir Henry 'Tim' Birkin at the Brooklands circuit, fetched the highest price ever for a Bentley at auction.

It far surpassed the previous record, which had been in place since the Speed Six known as 'Old No 2' was sold for £2.8 million at the Le Mans Classic in 2004.

In 1932, Birkin used the 'Blower' Bentley to set a record speed of 137.96 mph at Brooklands.

Commenting on the sale, Bentley's Richard Charlesworth described the record price as a reflection of "the enduring respect and admiration" for the 'Bentley Boys' of the 1920s.

Birkin, along with the likes of Woolf Barnato, Dudley Benjafield and Glen Kidston, belonged to a group of racers who drove Bentley cars to victory and helped to strengthen the brand's reputation for high performance.

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Posted by Mark Thompson

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