100 years ago, the first Bentley and, in fact, the first British car, competed in the first-ever Le Mans 24-hour race. This Bentley 3-litre has lived a storied life since that first race and has recently been sold to a British enthusiast for more than £3 million.
The sale was brokered by Kidston SA which was founded by Simon Kidston. Simon is the nephew of Glen Kidston who actually won the 1930 Le Mans race in a Bentley. It seems fitting that someone with a connection to the brand like this was involved in the sale of this special car that represents the beginning of the Bentley legend and the tradition of ‘The Bentley Boys’.
Kidston, Clement, Duff and others like Sir Tim Birkin, Dr Dudley Benjafield or one-time Bentley Chairman Woolf Barnato would become known as ‘The Bentley Boys’ for their hard-charging racing lifestyle. When speaking about ‘The Bentley Boys’, W.O Bentley, the founder of Bentley said “The public liked to imagine them living in Mayfair flats. Drinking Champagne in nightclubs, playing the horses and the Stock Exchange, and beating furiously around the racing tracks at the weekend. Of several of them, this was not such an inaccurate picture.”
The Car
The story of this car, Chassis 141, begins with Canadian World War 1 veteran (and Bentley dealer), John Duff. He drove the car at the British Double 12-hour Race at Brooklands and ended up setting 38 international records while driving the Bentley more than 2000 miles at around 86mph. After John felt that this was a successful outing, he asked W.O. Bentley to prepare the car for the debuting 24-hour endurance race that was to launch in Le Mans, France.
W.O. Bentley thought that this was a mad idea but, nonetheless, prepared the car and sent the factory test driver, Frank Clement, to co-drive for John. It was this pairing that resulted in the successful completion of the first-ever Le Mans race with a finishing position of joint 4th, along with the lap record of 66.69mph. This was all achieved in this very special Bentley that only had rear brakes and ended up running out of fuel due to stones from the unpaved track puncturing the tank!
The following year, Bentley and ‘The Bentley Boys’ returned to Le Mans but, this time, they won the 24-hour race. Bentley went on to win four successive times from 1927 to 1930 which created one of the most dominant runs in the history of the race. None of that would have happened if it hadn’t been for Chassis 141 proving to W.O. Bentley that his cars were very much capable of winning endurance races like this.
Chassis 141 and John Duff can be credited as playing a huge part in the long-term success of Bentley. If you follow the story of the brand’s success, it pretty much begins with Chassis 141!
Things Slow Down For This Special Bentley
After the excitement of its racing life, Chassis 141 lived a slower life being used as a towing vehicle, an undertaker’s car, and it was even used to transport St.Bernard dogs to shows throughout the 1940s. It then disappeared until the 1980s when the owner of Donington Car Museum received a call from a 97-year-old lady saying she had 2 old cars in her barn if he wanted them.
The museum owner purchased both cars, not knowing just how special the Bentley was, so the car sat as a project for a while. It wasn’t until a motoring journalist identified it as the long-lost first Bentley to race at Le Mans that it became apparent the massively important piece of motoring history was in his possession. Eventually, Chassis 141 was sent to an Australian collector, Peter Briggs, who restored the car before making it the centrepiece of the Briggs’ York Motor Museum near Perth.
Now that it is back in Britain after a British collector became its new owner, the story of Chassis 141 has come full circle and it has come home to where it all began.
Simon Kidston said:
“This week the most famous motor race in the world celebrates its 100th birthday and its pioneering early competitors remain as intriguing as ever. This Bentley isn’t just an old car, it’s a turning point in motor racing history and a cornerstone of the Bentley legend. And personally, having inherited a family passion for cars which was accelerated by my ‘Bentley Boy’ uncle, helping to bring this Bentley home feels really satisfying. It won’t be leading a quiet life: it’ll be lining up on the grid of the Le Mans 100th anniversary race for vintage cars next month. I hope its original drivers will be looking down and smiling.”
Chassis 141 – The First Bentley To Race At Le Mans
It’s not very often that a car with as much history and as much importance to motor racing history and, indeed, to motoring history, in general, is sold. It may have come with a whopping price tag of more than £3 million but, at last, Chassis 141, will return to Le Mans and get the recognition it deserves as a true legend of motoring.
