Bentley 3 Litre History

The 3 Litre was the first Bentley, developed from 1919 and delivered to its first customer in September 1921. Sold as a rolling chassis to be bodied by coachbuilders — Vanden Plas, a Cricklewood neighbour, being the most common — it had an advanced four-valve-per-cylinder, single-overhead-cam inline-four and established W. O. Bentley's goal of 'a fast car, a good car, the best in its class.'

It won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924 (John Duff and Frank Clement) and again in 1927 in Super Sports form (S. C. H. 'Sammy' Davis and Dudley Benjafield), launching Bentley's racing legend and the era of the 'Bentley Boys.' Cars were sold under colour-coded radiator badges — Blue Label, the high-performance Red Label Speed Model, and the rare 100-mph Green Label.

Around 1,600 were built through 1929, making it the most-produced Cricklewood Bentley before the larger 4½ Litre and Speed Six took over racing duties.