page_title: Bentley 4½ Litre
section_title: Background and development
hierarchical_section_title: Bentley 4½ Litre / Background and development
caption_attribution_description: Bentley 4½ Litre Thrupp &amp; Maberly open 4-seater tourer 1929 original coachwork Pebble Beach Concours dElegance, Aug 16, 2009 Chassis MR3390 Engine MR3393 Reg MS 34 delivered May 1929
context_page_description: The Bentley 4½ Litre was a British car based on a rolling chassis built by Bentley Motors. Walter Owen Bentley replaced the Bentley 3 Litre with a more powerful car by increasing its engine displacement to 4.4 litres. A racing variant was known as the Blower Bentley.
  Bentley buyers used their cars for personal transport and arranged for their new chassis to be fitted with various body styles, mostly saloons or tourers. However, the publicity brought by their competition programme was invaluable for marketing Bentley's cars.
  At the time, noted car manufacturers such as Bugatti and Lorraine-Dietrich focused on designing cars to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a popular automotive endurance course established only a few years earlier. A victory in this competition quickly elevated any car maker's reputation.
  A total of 720 4½ Litre cars were produced between 1927 and 1931, including 55 cars with a supercharged engine popularly known as the Blower Bentley. A 4½ Litre Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1928.
caption: 1929 4½ Litre with original Thrupp & Maberly four seat coachwork
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