The 24 Hours of Le Mans is just two weekends away and it’s bound to be a special one, as the infamous French track is celebrating its 100th year of 24-hour endurance racing. This year’s race is also set for some new competition, specifically from French automaker Alpine.
But a heralded piece of Le Mans history is making waves in the background, as the first Bentley to run in the 1923 24 Hours of Le Mans was sold for more than 3 million British pounds sterling.
Kidston
That’s about $3.71 million US dollars, but its sale price is a small part of the fascinating story behind the model. For starters, this 1923 Bentley 3 Liter was also the first English car to run in Le Mans, now known as chassis 141.
Behind the wheel of this piece of history was Canadian WWI veteran, adventurer, and Bentley dealer John Duff, who had previously and successfully competed in the Double 12-Hour Record at Brooklands in England, running 2082 miles at an average of 86.79 mph. That’s blindingly fast for a car that hadn’t yet received four-wheel brakes.
Chassis 141 in action at Le Mans.
Kidston
But Duff wanted to do it again, and he asked Walter Owen Bentley himself to set up the car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where factory test driver Frank Clement joined Duff.
The duo finished fourth overall in the inaugural race, in spite of a punctured fuel tank, and even set the lap record at an average of 66.6 mph. Of course, this podium finish set up the English brand for success, as it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans consecutively from 1927 through 1930. And it also sparked significant interest in Bentley vehicles, as the small company sold over 700 units between 1923 and 1924.
The heart of a 100-year-old racer.
Kidston
Why exactly was the Bentley 3 Liter so dominant? Much of it is owed to the 3.0-liter straight-four-cylinder engine, which was designed by a former airplane engineer and loosely based on the 1914 Mercedes Daimler M93654 racing engine. At its peak, the engine would produce around 70 hp, sent through a four-speed gearbox and propelling the 4000-pound chassis to speeds topping mph.
However, chassis 141 didn’t head off to a museum for quiet repose after its motorsports success. Instead, it was used as a tow vehicle and then to transport a set of St. Bernards to 1940s dog shows. It didn’t resurface again until the early 1980s when the owner of the Donington Car Museum, Tom Wheatcroft, was offered the car by a 97-year-old lady, though neither the seller nor buyer initially identified the model as uniquely historic.
Cockpit of Bentley’s 1923 racer.
Kidston
However, the model was later identified and sent to Australia for restoration by Australian collector Peter Briggs, where it eventually sat as a centerpiece of the York Motor Museum.
Now, the model is back in British hands, as the sale to an anonymous English enthusiast was brokered by Kidston SA, a company founded by Simon Kidston, the nephew of Glen Kidston, who won the 1930 Le Mans 24 Hours at the wheel of a Bentley. And the restored model looks fantastic while maintaining its period-correct heritage, though the model is getting one more go at Le Mans before entering the collection.
Kidston
“This Bentley isn’t just an old car—it’s a turning point in motor racing history and a cornerstone of the Bentley legend. And personally, having inherited a family passion for cars which was accelerated by my ‘Bentley Boy’ uncle, helping to bring this Bentley home feels really satisfying. It won’t be leading a quiet life: It’ll be lining up on the grid of the Le Mans 100th anniversary race for vintage cars next month. I hope its original drivers will be looking down and smiling,” Simon Kidston explained.
Emmet White
Associate Editor
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a 2003 Honda Nighthawk 750 street parked in his South Brooklyn community.
Keyword: First Bentley to Race at Le Mans Has Been Found, Restored