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The 2012 Mille Miglia will again prove the perfect platform for classic car porn as two 4.5-litre Bentley Blowers have been confirmed for the classic 1000 Mile endurance test.
The twin Blowers may well have a combined age of more than 160 year but are showing little signs of slowing down.
The 4.5-litre supercharged Birkin Blower, raced extensively by Le Mans winner and Bentley Boy Tim Birkin, completed the Mille Miglia in 2005 and 2011. It will be joined by one of 50 Blowers built specifically for road use that started its life in 1930 as one of the company’s first demo fleet.
MIXING OLD WITH NEW
Rolf Frech, Bentley’s board member for engineering who will also be leading the Bentley team at the Mille Miglia, said: “It is a privilege for the team to drive these remarkable cars at the Mille Miglia as they embody so many of the qualities that set Bentley apart from other marques and W O Bentley’s brilliance as an engineer.
“We look forward to driving another thousand miles and setting a decent pace in the true Bentley tradition.”
A 1954, company-owned R-Type Continental has also made the journey from England to Italy. The R-Type was also the world’s fastest four-seat luxury sedan when it was launched in 1952.
The trio of classic Bentleys will be accompanied across Italy by two modern cars from Crewe – a six-litre W12 Continental GT coupe and a recently launched four-litre V8 GTC convertible.
Bentley’s new V8 delivers 373kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 660Nm from 1700 to 5000rpm and, combined with a new close-ratio eight-speed automatic transmission, will allow the GTC to sprint from standstill to 100km/h sprint in 4.7 seconds.
Bentley, however, also boasts about the new engine’s levels of fuel efficiency – the Crewe-based automaker claims 800km on a single tank of fuel… but how big is the tank?
The 2012 Mille Miglia started on May 16, 2012 and will run until May 20, 2012.
The twin Blowers may well have a combined age of more than 160 year but are showing little signs of slowing down.
The 4.5-litre supercharged Birkin Blower, raced extensively by Le Mans winner and Bentley Boy Tim Birkin, completed the Mille Miglia in 2005 and 2011. It will be joined by one of 50 Blowers built specifically for road use that started its life in 1930 as one of the company’s first demo fleet.
MIXING OLD WITH NEW
Rolf Frech, Bentley’s board member for engineering who will also be leading the Bentley team at the Mille Miglia, said: “It is a privilege for the team to drive these remarkable cars at the Mille Miglia as they embody so many of the qualities that set Bentley apart from other marques and W O Bentley’s brilliance as an engineer.
“We look forward to driving another thousand miles and setting a decent pace in the true Bentley tradition.”
A 1954, company-owned R-Type Continental has also made the journey from England to Italy. The R-Type was also the world’s fastest four-seat luxury sedan when it was launched in 1952.
The trio of classic Bentleys will be accompanied across Italy by two modern cars from Crewe – a six-litre W12 Continental GT coupe and a recently launched four-litre V8 GTC convertible.
Bentley’s new V8 delivers 373kW at 6000rpm and peak torque of 660Nm from 1700 to 5000rpm and, combined with a new close-ratio eight-speed automatic transmission, will allow the GTC to sprint from standstill to 100km/h sprint in 4.7 seconds.
Bentley, however, also boasts about the new engine’s levels of fuel efficiency – the Crewe-based automaker claims 800km on a single tank of fuel… but how big is the tank?
The 2012 Mille Miglia started on May 16, 2012 and will run until May 20, 2012.