A vintage Bentley has become the most expensive British car ever sold at auction, fetching an impressive £4.5 million.
The 1929 4.5-litre 'Blower' Bentley was sold at the Bonhams auction at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, outstripping the £3.5 million paid in 2007 for a 1904 Rolls-Royce.
The single-seater racer commanded such a high price arguably because of its impressive racing pedigree. It was owned and raced by Sir Henry 'Tim' Birkin, an ex-fighter pilot and a member of the fabled 'Bentley Boys' -- an elite group of rich young men who raced cars made by the Crewe firm in the 1920s and 1930s.
In 1932, Birkin set the Brooklands track record in the car, achieving 137.96mph on the steep banked circuit -- a feat which we can only imagine must have been absolutely terrifying. He claimed that "there are bumps which jolt the driver up and down in his seat and make the car leave the road and travel through the air."
Doug Nye, historian at Bonhams, said: "It is wonderful to see this iconic car's true value recognised by the world market... The Birkin single-seater Bentley was, in effect, the Concorde of its time, the fastest car around the high Brooklands bankings."
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