WOOLF BARNATO’S BENTLEY FOR SALE

Three-time Le Mans winner’s 4.5-litre up for grabs

ABentley 4.5-litre Le Mans style tourer originally owned by Bentley racer and investor Woolf Barnato is up for sale.

H&H Classics is selling the 1929 tourer at its Duxford sale at the Imperial War Museum on Wednesday 17 October with a £750850k estimate. It formed part of the three-time Le Mans winner’s collection of cars, primarily ferrying him between parties at his Sussex and London houses.

The racer and Bentley financier is known to have owned two 4.5-litres, one in which he won the 1928 Le Mans 24 Hours – which was later adapted into a 6.5-litre single seater – and this example, chassis NX3457.

Having passed through 15 further owners since Barnato’s time with the car, the current owner purchased the car in 2011 and has treated the car to a complete mechanical overhaul, including an engine rebuild.

The body remains in good, if patinated condition, having been restored in the 1960s, at which point it was fitted with its current four-seat tourer body.

Damian Jones, head of sales at H&H Classics says: ‘But for [Barnato] pumping money into Bentley, the company may now be just a dim memory instead of being one of the world’s leading luxury motoring brands.

‘Then there is the glamour of the gilded Barnato name. This is a must-buy for anyone who has a passion for Bentley.’

The ex-Barnato 4.5-litre has worn its current tourer body since the Sixties – and could well set a model record.

Barnato (right) with Le Mans 24 Hour drivers Frank Clement (left) and Tim Birkin.