For sixty-six years the chassis no. for Syd Lawrence's racing car VMF 944 has been known to be the odd-sounding '102/50 ML'. Now in 2016, it has had the W.O. Chassis no. 708 bestowed on it. Deal with it.

When I was asked to write an article telling the story of our 3 litre Bentley, chassis 348, I answered “Ok, but once her 90th birthday present restoration is complete.” That has given me a 2-year reprieve, but now the time has come to put pen to paper, or should I say finger to keyboard? So, where to start? I have known the car since my father, Edgar Ridgen, called in to my boarding school in Timaru when first taking her home to Greendale, after purchasing her in 1976. But of course 348’s story starts a bit earlier than that; shall we say October 1923, her delivery date...

Years ago I owned a Bentley, NF 3906; and I spent many hours bringing it back to life. The story has never been told because Brian Morgan had written his account of a rebuild in ‘The Review’ and it made me ashamed at my feeble effort. However whilst browsing through an old copy of ‘The Review’ (January 1961), I found an article 'GT 8773 is tidied up'. In it I noticed some parallels with my efforts with NF 3906. Also in a recent 'Review' an article on ‘Why I own a Bentley’ with a footnote from the Editor 'Any more reasons'. That footnote more or less tipped the scales and although I don’t now own a Bentley, I did once and here’s why and how.

The year 2013 was the 90th anniversary of the very first 24 Hours of Le Mans. At 4 PM on May 26, 1923, shortly after the onset of a rain shower, the starter's flag fell. And as the assembled cars — of which only one, a Bentley 3.0 Sport, wasn't built in France — scrabbled away on the roughly surfaced road, the rain turned to hail.

The sporting car, as a class, has characteristically more distinction than that possessed by touring types. Being essentially out of the ordinary, and representing the result of concentration upon a design intended to emphasise particular motoring qualities, the sporting car usually has quite an individuality of its own. Some sporting cars, of course, are much more conventional than others ; whilst there are those which seem to stand quite apart from orthodox standards.

When one thinks about doing a camping trip of a life time – a 4100-km grand tour of Europe – they think long and hard about what type of car they should take on such a journey. They may think of taking a VW Westfalia or a Volvo wagon. Maybe even a small SUV. What doesn’t come to anyone’s mind is taking an antique Bentley.

In August of 1921, two years after putting down his deposit, Llewelyn took delivery of the first customer Bentley car, Chassis #3. The third chassis became the first delivery partly due to PR and partly due to production methods in the early days of the automobile... Chassis #3 was offered up for auction by New Englander Thurston Twigg-Smith Jr, in 2011, who also owns a 1928 4.5-Litre Bentley and bought the 3-Litre in 1994, complete but in pieces, after having followed its ownership for years...

1,000 miles in a day... in a 1925 LeMans Bentley... with the top down... and the temperature below freezing... is a feat that should be attempted only by mad dogs, Englishmen and Texans

Mike and Marianne Knowles, from Auckland, along with their 1924 3-litre short-chassis, red-label, speed-model Bentley were a part of the New Zealand Bentley Tour 2010, which started on January 20 in Christchurch and finished on March 6 in Auckland.

"Chassis 141" tells the story of the first British entry in the famed LeMans 24 Hour Race in 1923. This is the origin of one of the most legendary teams in motorsport history — the "Bentley Boys" — a group of wealthy playboys who drove Bentley racing cars in major events across Europe... Anyone who enjoys vintage cars and restoring them, will find this book an inspiration to get out and turn a wrench on their car. From rusty parts to a fine sporting machine — just takes encouragement, and this book is a shot of adrenalin. Recommended to the true enthusiast.

Only 18 100mph-model Bentley 3-litres were made -- the lightest and the quickest of the breed. Malcolm McKay drives a rare survivor in amazingly original condition... Late in 1925, prosperous butcher and part-time gentleman racer at Brooklands, Henry Leeson, ordered from Bentley Motors a Super Sports: the new, ultimate 3-litre. The chassis was despatched to the Surbiton Coach and Motor Works, where craftsmen painstakingly constructed the most beautiful body ever to grace a Vintage Bentley...

What more appropriate place to test Britain's, maybe the world's, fastest pre-war Bentley than on the Melbourne Loop, where the supercharged 650bhp Mercedes once roared in anger. Climbing in behind the lorry-like four-spoke wheel and dropping down into the snug black leather bucket seat, thoughts of the rubber burnt by Caracciola and Seaman comes to mind as my thumb aims at the cabinet-knob sized starter. Under the long bonnet of this exotic. Royal Blue vintage special is 8 litres of serious supercharged grunt...

It was most enjoyable to be out in a real motor-car again and to be able to say I had been driving a Bentley at Brooklands! This brief backwards glimpse provided a firm reminder of the unassailable position occupied by the 3-litre Bentley some fifty years ago. Our 1942 account was published just after John Duffs victory at Le Mans, and apart from a later Editor of MOTOR SPORT deciding that in 1926 there was no comparable sporting car, another well-known motoring writer, whose mother bought a new 3-litre, has pointed out that people are apt to forget, now that the 3-litre is a vintage car, what a stupendous reputation it had in its heyday.

The general conception of the 3-litre Bentley was forming in the mind of its creator before the end of World War I. W.O.'s idea was to produce a very fast motor-car, on the principle of a racing-car detuned as it were, by building into it enough strength and weight to ensure reliability and durability in the hands of private owners, as pooposed to "hotting-up " an ordinary car to the point where it became unreliable.

In March, 1941, I discovered a 1924 "Speed Model" Bentley (Chassis No. 443) in Poona, but owing to having on the previous day purchased by wire to Delhi a 1935 Lancia "Dilambda" sports tourer, funds did not permit of buying and maintaining a second car. However, in due course No. 443 was purchased by a friend of mine for about £30, and though the bodywork was rough, mechanically the car was in very sound order. Its big snag was the old-type wheels fitted with 820 by 120 tyres for which, search as we might, and did, we were never able to find the much-needed spares. This car was driven to Delhi by two friends, the time taken being two and a half days. I was to have been the third driver for this interesting trip but, unfortunately, was removed to hospital with paratyphoid a few days before we were due to start.

When Peter Clark said "she's rather good, as 'Blue Labels' go" and told us what she has cost him we realised that here was a unique opportunity to discover just what a sound but not abnormal 3-litre Bentley can do. Albeit, in matters of layout and equipment, Peter's car is distinctly individualistic. What she actually represents is a very late series "Blue Label" vintage 1928-29 with the original fabric saloon body replaced by cut-about sports two-seater carriage work...

When a firm starts to make motor cars, and with its first model springs into a position in the automobile world unattained by any of its rivals, there must be something more than usually remarkable about that model. Such was the case of the famous 3-litre Bentley which brought its name to the position of being a household word among motorists, and which has made history both on its own, and on behalf of the motor industry of this country.

The sporting car, as a class, has characteristically more distinction than that possessed by touring types. Being essentially out of the ordinary, and representing the result of concentration upon a design intended to emphasise particular motoring qualities, the sporting car usually has quite an individuality of its own. Some sporting cars, of course, are much more conventional than others; whilst there are those which seem to stand quite apart from orthodox standards... In the latter category one may place the three-litre Speed Model Bentley. This car embodies all the qualities which one has come to consider essential in a sporting car. In addition, it has features and characteristics quite its own.

For Bentley enthusiast R.G. Baillie, the acquisition of a 3-litre became a dream of his from the moment when he first saw the Bentley at the 1921 Motor Show, but it was many years before that dream was realised. As a matter of interest, the Bentley was originally shown at Olympia, in 1919, the first Motor Show after the 1918 Armistice. It appeared then as a chassis only, but in 1920 a complete car was on view, in the White City section of the Show, with an all-weather body, forming the only exhibit on the stand.

The great prestige still enjoyed by the 3-litre Bentley today regarded as typical of the Vintage sports car, makes one forget that when first introduced at the Olympia Show of 1919 it was, in fact, a production-model racing car laid out on full Grand Prix lines...

The immediate subject is 3-litre Bentley, and it is introduced on this occasion by A. F. Rivers Fletcher, who at one time was with the original Bentley Company. He writes of a late example of 3-litre belonging to a disabled enthusiast, Brian Ashworth...

Here is what J.G. Fry says about the 3-4 1/2 litre hybrid: "Recipe: take a good 3-litre Red Label Bentley chassis, mix in a good 4 1/2 litre engine gear box, and transmission and add a light two-seater body with accessories to taste. The result is a motorcar, which while still retaining a good vintage flavour, possesses a performance equalled by few other machines even of the most modern and expensive type..."

The article is about the results of nearly a year of spare-time work on a 1927 3-litre Bentley... It's three or four months since an old-type Bentley was featured in this series, and that was a 4 1/2, and no doubt something more about a 3-litre will be looked for, at any rate welcomed. As it happens, I feel a personal interest beyond the ordinary in the sample of 3-litre now described, for, as the present owner mentions, it was through a reference to the car in "The Sport" nearly a year ago that it changed hands. The previous owner was Donald McCullough...

I have been a regular reader of your journal for many years, and have recently enjoyed the numerous but always interesting references to the grand old Bentleys… May I be forgiven if I feel some pride in at one time possessing what I believe was the No. One 3-litre? I purchased this car second-hand in 1922, or early '23 from Mr. F. G. Clement, who was at the time a member of Gaffikin and Wilkinson, of Dover Street. W. Fortunately I still have a photograph of the car.

Having for many years been a Bentley enthusiast, I follow with great interest the controversies arising from time to time in The Autocar regarding these noble cars. I think I recently observed some sacrilegious suggestions that the bodywork of the old-time Bentleys should be modernised for the post-war period... As a hitherto silent observer 1 must now protest — the bodywork is surely as indispensable as the renowned exhaust note, and is part and parcel of what makes a Bentley a Bentley.

Admittedly a car of appeal to the brand of motorist labelled as the enthusiast, it is doubtful whether any single model of any other make has been the subject of more discussion and adulation than the 3-litre Bentley. It was designed immediately after the end of the last war, and first produced twenty-one years ago. Manufacture of this particular model ceased well over ten years ago, yet still there is ample evidence that it is sought after because it can give something highly individual to the keen owner whose natural inclination is towards a sports car, and because of its astonishing durability.

In immediate succession to last week's 30-98 Vauxhall, I am able to present the promised 3-litre Bentley — counterpart, contemporary, rival, call it what you will; These two descriptions have been on my mind for some time, and next, having been able to give them their share of attention, I will endeavour to cater in turn for those whose/idea of a sports car does not run to machines that have four whopping great cylinders, and are anything up to seventeen or eighteen years old into the bargain. Though what a tribute to their design and construction that latter remark is — and they're British, too!

A Bentley for 55 guineas. There is quite obviously a whole story in that for the enthusiast interested in this type of car. This 1923 3-litre short-chassis Bentley is the oldest car yet taken out, and has the highest mileage to its credit, yet the mechanical condition was a wonderful tribute to the workmanship and materials.

Some cars are in a class apart. To own them is a sheer joy, available, alas! to only a limited few whose pockets are deep enough. The performance that they give varies according to the type of machine. It is said that money can buy anything. In the car world it can buy superlative performance, or sheer luxury, or a combination of the two.

Two things stick in my mind about the 1933 Monte Carlo Rally — the complete lack of trouble during the run and the intense cold… From my point of view, I can truthfully say that never have I done a more peaceful competition in any vehicle… It may be of interest to give a few details of the machine. The engine… was fitted into a 1925 long chassis 3-litre Bentley. The body was the same age — a fabric Freestone and Webb saloon.

Considering this car has seen three and a half years of service, and that the speedometer recorded more than 30,000 miles, the mechanical condition of the machine was a tribute to Bentley workmanship. The rear wheel, when jacked up, had as little as 1 1/4in. of travel at the tyre, with the gear lever in first, while at the front axle no wear at all could be detected. The wheel bearings had no shake, nor was there any perceptible play in the steering connections.

A special Bentley-Smith carburetter for the standard cars, differing in many respects from the ordinary Smith, is used. In this the control to make starting easier in cold weather and also admit extra air does not block up two of the choke tubes as is usual, but raises a sleeve, entirely cutting off the air from the slow-running jet. To start, therefore, it is important to close the hand throttle completely and then cut off the air for the slow-running jet. When the engine has started the control must, of course, be returned to normal position; the extra air, on the other hand, should not be kept open the whole time if the car is on full throttle and maximum power is required.

Before discussing the adjustment of the components of the three-litre Bentley chassis, it is as well to mention that the manufacturers maintain an admirably organised service depot to relieve owners of Bentley cars from the need to effect anything more than the ordinary small adjustments of every day running. It may be argued that the owner of a car in, say, the north of England could not benefit from a depot near Hendon, N.W., and the answer to this is that the depot will come to him, as a member of the staff with the necessary tools and spares is often sent long distances immediately on receipt of a call for assistance.

With a performance to satisfy the most critical speedman, coupled with a degree of flexibility unusual in a sports car, the 1926 three-litre speed model Bentley shows a distinct improvement over the very fine sports automobiles that have hitherto left the Cricklewood works. Not only is the new car faster by some 10 m.p.h. than the 1925 type, but acceleration has been improved, while the brakes are still more efficient than of yore.

The much-disputed record for the 24 hours is once again held by a British car. Capt. John F. Duff, driving his privately owned 15.9 h.p. three-litre Bentley succeeded in covering no less than 2,280.69 miles in the 24 hours at Montlhery track… Some idea of his terrific feat may be gathered when it is recalled that in the course of a day and a night he has covered a distance almost equivalent to six times the journey from London to Edinburgh. His average speed for the entire distance was 95.026 m.p.h., eight miles an hour faster than the average of Garfield and Plessier, driving the big six-cylinder 45 h.p. Renault.

...Upon examining the car, one is struck by the comfort and roominess of the bodywork, which has been attained on a chassis of short wheelhase. The body sides are high, affording adequate protection, and both front and rear seats are of comfortable shape and dimensions. In order to increase the body space, the steering column has been shortened to the extent of 3 ins., and is less steeply raked than in other 3-litre Bentley models; consequently, it has been found possible to shorten the scuttle and move the dash farther forward. The body does not overhang at the back, and the whole car has a well balanced and pleasing appearance set off by the handsome lines of the well-known Bentley radiator and tapering bonnet.

The three-litre Bentley chassis has the distinction of having won its way in a remarkably short period of time, being first produced so recently as 1921. This has largely been due to its successes in various sporting events, culminating in the winning of the Rudge-Whitworth Cup in the Grand Prix d'Endurance in Juno last year. For some time there have been two types of three-litre chassis produced, known as the " Long-wheelbase Model " and the "Short-wheelbase Speed Model " respectively; it is the latter which we were recently able to test on the road.

Few things are more interesting than the gradual development of a car, and few cars have developed in a more interesting manner than has the three-litre Bentley… Originally, this car was the sporting car par excellence; a machine built to give a high performance and designed to be handled by the enthusiast from whom skilful driving might be expected. The car has been available to motorists for, relatively, a few years. During that time it has established a very high reputation, and at the same lime development has resulted in a transformation of the machine from the sporting car to what can be termed in comparison a genuine touring car. True, the sports or short chassis has an even higher performance than hitherto, but its manufacture forms a small proportion of the total energy devoted to Bentley cars, and the main production is centred in the long, or touring, chassis.

John Duff's 3-litre Bentley, driven by the owner and by F. C. Clement, won the 24 hours race for the Rudge-Whitworth Cup, at Le Mans, last Sunday afternoon. Officially covering 1,290 3/4 miles, this average equalled 53 3/4 miles an hour. In reality, the British car went at least one hundred miles further, but, under the complicated rules, which competitors and officials alike admitted they could not understand, Duff got no credit for his last 90 minutes' running, although during this time he was driving hard under the impression that he was in danger of losing the race.

Bentley Motors Ltd., decided not to supply front wheel brakes of any kind with their chassis until they were satisfied that they had produced an absolutely fool-proof system. Realizing the danger involved by fitting types of an unperfected character, this concern has spent a great deal of time and money in producing a system that is (a) perfectly safe in the hands of the ordinary driver at the wheel of a fast car; and (b) long-lived and easy to adjust.

When the three-litre Bentley was first put on the British market, some three years ago, its sponsors stated that the car had been designed as a sports model, capable of good performances on the road. In its layout were incorporated several features that were the.outcome of experience gained in building high-efficiency aeroplane engines, and the way in which this car has gained considerable popularity among motorists of all classes has given the lie direct to those who considered that an engine incorporating such features as four valves per cylinder, dual magneto ignition, and other features usually connected with racing types pur et simple, would not be successful.

There is probably no car coming under the category of a real postwar production that has built up for itself a finer reputation than that possessed by the three-lilre Bentley today. The success of this car at Indianapolis, its performance in the Tourist Trophy Race, and the way in which a standard four-seater, driven by Capt. G, F. Duff, broke the double-twelve-hour record at Brooklands at over 85 m.p.h. average speed, are fitting counterparts to the success that has been achieved by this car in the hands of owner-drivers.

Perhaps the best way of summing up the performance of the three-litre Bentley is to say that it gives one the impression of being two cars in one. Fully to appreciate its capabilities one ought first to be a passenger in it when being handled by a stolid, "family" type of driver, and afterwards by one of those bright-eyed, alert, snatch-change Italians who normally despise anything but a real racing car… For the three-litre Bentley is truly a vehicle that gives one seriously to think.

As already announced in the Autocar of April 22nd, a three-litre Bentley car is to compete in the 500 Miles Race at Indianapolis on May 30th… The Bentley is one of the few cars, which can be converted into a racing car by altering only a few parts, such as gear ratio, carburetter, and compression. An interesting regulation for this race is that the two-litre cars may have single-seater bodies, whereas the three-litre machines must carry two. This is a considerable advantage for the smaller cars.

If ever there was a paradox on four wheels it is the three-litre Bentley. Originally designed and subsequently described quite rightly as a sporting model, it has all the characteristics of that type of car, yet the effect of a trial run is to make one wonder what exactly is the definition of a sporting car… Many years ago a car which travelled only with difficulty at under 30 m.p.h. on top gear, which was the proud possessor of an inordinately flat spot in the lower part of the carburetter range, which was exceptionally noisy and rather difficult to handle, was considered, fitted with a light and speedy looking body, to offer every possibility which the word sport might imply.

The Bentley car illustrated is equipped with a particularly fine example of the coachbuilder's art. The body, which has been specially built by Charlesworth Bodies. Ltd., of Coventry, is designed to provide the most ample leg-room for a long-legged driver and to combine this feature with the provision of a dickey seat in which leg-room is also an important consideration.

Since the announcement in The Autocar of May 17th, 1919, that a Bentley car was to be produced, over two years have rolled by. Motorists to whom the chassis appealed especially have been wondering what was happening, why no cars succeeded the original experimental chassis, and, little by little, the rumour grew that the Bentley never would be a production job... Within a few weeks, the first car is to leave the works in the hands of its owner, and there will follow a steady output of five cars a week, the price per chassis being £1,050. These facts alone are the firm's answer to its critics, but one may be forgiven for dwelling a little on the difficulties which have had lo be overcome during the past in order to reach the production stage of this attractive sporting chassis.

Although frowned upon by the authorities, limited by law, and penalised when discovered, speed is the greatest attribute of a car, and from the car alone is it possible to realise to the full that peculiar feeling of greatness, soaring almost to poetic heights, consequent on high speed travelling. There are, however, certain private roads in our own country, and nearly all the national highways of fair France, on which a racing machine and an open throttle are not only allowed, but encouraged, to the great joy and thankfulness of those drivers who know really where the true pleasure of motoring exists.

A British super-efficient sporting car, the engine of which is designed to keep its "tune" in the hands of the average owner. The chassis stands alone in its class as a car designed to give that peculiar and almost perfect combination of tractabilitv and great speed usually to be found on machines built for racing and for racing only. Essentially a light chassis with a very powerful engine, the car is nevertheless suitable for the average motorist who has not the time to maintain an engine in perfect tune, the whole point of the design being that the engine will do its work easily without the need of constant attention to tappet clearance or other minor adjustments. True, in the hands of the motoring enthusiast who has mechanical ability and is able to obtain the last ounce of power from the engine, the car should well repay attention and care spent upon it, but the great majority prefer a car which will do its work year in and year out without trouble, and for such is the Bentley designed.

According to legend the Goodman Bentley was conceived about 200 metres from the summit of Danseys Pass-a remote and little used short cut to Central Otago from the north — on Saturday, June 4th, 1960. The South Canterbury Branch's Queen's Birthday Tour was en route to an overnight stop at Alexandra and the Goodman lads, Brian, then aged 20 and Barry, aged 17 struggled up the long winding pass in their Model T Tudor, they each having to put a foot hard down on the low gear pedal. Suddenly with the blare of a horn and a shower of shingle Don Oddie bellowed past in his 4 1/2 litre Bentley, and as he disappeared over the summit Barry was heard to mutter "One day I will own a car like that!"

…The route took us over Danseys Pass and whilst making our slow and labourious way up (with both feet pushed hard onto the low gear pedal) we were passed by Don Oddie in his early 4 1/2 Bentley. That did it. Barry swore that one day he would have a car like that. I also agreed that it was very nice but later bought a small continental vintage car and thought that that was the end of my plans to one day own a Bentley. The 3-litre story really starts after the 1st Bentley Alpine rally when Barry arrived home and stated that he intended to build up a 3-litre…

The author was surprised to find a vintage 3 litre Bentley in the barn of a remote farm in USA. It's been there 30 years, now covered in a deep layer of dust and a covering of pigeon droppings. It is thought to be a 1925 model and to have had a Weymann-type saloon body. The present owner intends to fit a reproduction of the Vanden Plas open tourer body...

The new car, the now immortal 3-litre Bentley, was born... The first description appeared in the motor press in May 1919, and a report on a test drive in the experimental car followed in January 1920. Already a polished chassis had been exhibited at the Motor Show of 1919 and, backed by a very nice catalogue, sporting young gentlemen were taking a keen interest in the new make.This first engine, which had hour-glass pistons, developed about 65 b.h.p. at the modest speed of rotation of 3500 rpm.

Take a look at the ongoing research on Chassis No. 564, currently owned by David Brownell. Roy Ginn, who owned 564 from 1966 to 1971, contacted us with information and numerous photographs and a newspaper article about the car as it was, when he owned it — a goldmine of information for David. The fascinating bits of history surrounding this car are coming together...

In December 1919 the first complete Bentley, Experimental No. 1, underwent a road test in the hands of Sammy Davis of The Autocar, whose report was published in January 1920. During 1920 and 1921, as a result of continuing testing and competition work in sprints, hill climbs and racing on Brooklands, the development of the 3 Litre proceeded. By September 1921, when the first production model was delivered to its owner, the 3 Litre Bentley looked much as we know it today.

I had been nurtured in an atmosphere that loved the best in car design. As soon as I was strong enough to carry the heavy bound volumes of my father's carefully treasured Autocars; my eye became familiar with the proud leviathans of the 1920s… As soon as I was able to read for myself, the fond volumes of "Sammy" Davis and Tim Birkin, their white overalls shining as armour, completely captured my schoolboy imagination. They were my heroes, these men who time and again rode those monstrous steeds, who time and again won the victor's laurels for the winged B, and carried the green of England's countryside supreme. Above all in my mind stood the architect, whose name the magnificent cars bore.

With a performance to satisfy the most critical speedman, coupled with a degree of flexibility unusual in a sports car, the 1926 three-litre speed model Bentley shows a distinct improvement over the very fine sports automobiles that have hitherto left the Cricklewood works. Not only is the new car faster by some 10 m.p.h. than the 1925 type, but acceleration has been improved, while the brakes are still more efficient than of yore.

David Wickers has owned his three-litre Bentley for nearly 30 years and has spent the last ten restoring it. Wickers got his 1926 three-litre Speed Model open tourer in 1960 for just £200. In those days, however, that was still a hefty sum for a 24-year-old to find. He sold a vintage 20-horsepower Rolls-Royce to raise the deposit and paid off the balance by hire-purchase installments.

Any restoration fan who likes sports cars has a special feeling reserved for the three litre Bentley of the 1920s. Probably no car (although this statement will bring a lot of comment) has ever excited a nation as did the Bentleys of the 20s. Once, when the marque won the race at Le Mans, the drivers were hailed as conquering heroes in England and the celebration lasted for weeks.

In the earliest years of the Classic Era, that brief time before standard and semi-custom coachwork became de rigueur, nearly all automobiles combined the works of a chassis manufacturer with that of an independent coachbuilder. They were what we could call the two cars in every classic; that which was seen, and that which was most often not — the rolling chassis.

Sixteen valves, overhead camshaft and dual ignition. Sound like the latest hi-tech engine from BMW or Honda? Well you're wrong. These characteristics describe the three-litre four-cylinder used in W.O. Bentley's first production car the 1920s — the legendary 3-Litre…

Most of us give up any hope of owning our dream car, but spiralling values of vintage Bentleys in the early '80s didn't deter a teenage Michael Hay: "It was a book in our school library called Cars, Cars, Cars that really switched me on. On the back cover was an overhead shot of a 1926 3-litre Speed Model." Although Michael was only 14, that image triggered a craving to own one...