The 4.5 litre supercharged 'Blower' has a controversial history in which W O Bentley, the designer of the original Bentley, was opposed to its production.
In 1929, a standard 4.5 litre model was fitted with an Amherst Villiers supercharger between the front dumb irons. This modification was made at the request of Sir Henry (Tim) Birkin, in search of greater speed and victory for his own team of Bentleys racing in the Le Mans.
Walter Bentley had previously stated that "to supercharge a Bentley engine was to pervert its design and corrupt its performance". However, he was unable to prevent the manufacture of 50 'Blower' 4.5's in 1930, to meet the Le Mans regulations. The model pictured is one of that production number.
The 'Blower' Bentley is a most sought after model despite the fact that the supercharged cars never won a major pre-war event, and did not finish in any long distance race.