The cars at Pebble Beach are always spectacular but the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will present something truly special. On August 16th it promises to "showcase the most impressive collection of Bentley team cars ever assembled." The early 3-litre car that ushered in the legend of Bentley at Le Mans will be among the many famous on display; at the very first Le Mans race, held in 1923, it was Chassis 141 that set the inaugural lap record and finished in fourth place. The following year, a Bentley won the race. Bentleys then recorded four consecutive wins from 1927 through 1930. For a time, Chassis 141 languished in the obscurity of a small English village, but it has since been restored. It will journey all the way from its current home in Australia.
Event organizers also plan to unite the record-setting Bentley Speed Sixes, known more simply as Old Numbers One, Two and Three, and the iconic Birkin Blower race cars. Tim Birkin, perhaps the most famous of the fast-living Bentley Boys, devoted much of his time to developing a supercharger for the race team and all four of the original Birkin Blower race cars are headed to Pebble Beach. In addition to the racing class, there will be two classes of unique Vintage Bentleys, a class of Derby Bentleys, and several Bentleys in other classes. But the car I'd most like to see is Captain Woolf "Babe" Barnato's legendary 8-liter Van den Plas Tourer. This is the Bentley he drove after betting that he could beat the famous Cannes-to-Calais Blue Train across France (which he did, in spectacular fashion). The car is also featured on the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours event poster.
[Image credit: vintageracinggreen.com]
The “Blue Train” is hands down one of my all-times favorite Bentley; the aesthetics are perfect!
June 16, 2009 @ 8:05 am