VINTAGE: Bentley Speed 8

Le Mans / ALMS

VINTAGE: Bentley Speed 8

Bentley was the first manufacturer to dominate the 24 Hours of Le Mans, scoring five outright wins in the legendary French endurance race between 1924 and 1930.

Wouter Melissen | http://www.ultimatecarpage.com | Posted June 22, 2009 Charlotte, NC

The Bentley Speed 8 immediately demonstrated its potential by clinching the first two positions on the grid of the 2003 Sebring 12 Hours race. (Photo: Wouter Melissen, ultimatecarpage.com)

Model history:
Bentley was the first manufacturer to dominate the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Between 1924 and 1930 the British company scored five outright wins in the legendary French endurance race. Shortly after the fifth win Bentley was incorporated by Rolls-Royce and all racing activities were suspended. The Rolls-Royce ownership lasted for nearly 70 years and finally came to an end in 1998 when both companies were absorbed into the Volkswagen Audi Group (VAG). One of the results of the ownership change was a renewed interest in racing and in 2000 a three-year program was announced. The ultimate goal; Bentley's sixth 24 Hours of Le Mans win.

One of the VAG's other brands, Audi, was already involved in sports car racing, which both complicated and simplified Bentley's Le Mans assault. It would make little sense for the two sister brands to race each other but on the other hand experience and resources could be shared. The regulations offered an ideal solution; the new Bentley would be built to race in the LM GTP class for closed prototypes. Audi's 2000 Le Mans winning R8 competed in the LMP 900 class for open prototypes. Both classes had very similar regulations, which ensured that the two very different machines could still both race for overall glory.

Racing Technology Norfolk (RTN) was commissioned to design the new Bentley Le Mans racer. They had previously worked with Audi on the similar R8C that raced at Le Mans in 1999. While the R8C was designed by Tony Southgate, his compatriot Peter Elleray was hired to pen the Bentley that was labelled the EXP Speed 8. That was in reference to its experimental status, the 1929 and 1930 Le Mans winning Bentley Speed 6s and its eight cylinder engine. That twin-turbocharged V8 was the only common part shared with the Audi R8. The chassis, suspension, gearbox and aero-package were all developed from scratch.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wouter Melissen

UltimateCarPage.com

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