Forrest Lycett and his amazing 8-litre Bentley (Page 5 of 9)
Motor Sport Magazine, July 1998

 

For such purposes Lycett had a selection of six back-aide ratios. For road-going occasions he was apt to employ gearbox ratios of 7.814, 5.376, 4.035 and 3.0 to 1, in conjunction with Dunlop Fort-90 tyres of 7.00x21 on the back wheels, 6.00x21 at the front. This gave maxima in the gears of 51, 72 and 96mph, without exceeding 4000rpm — and Lycett insisted on an absolutely accurate speedometer. Yet the big engine was quite docile at a mere 450rpm (15mph) in top gear.

 

In this form, with driver and passenger (me), the 8-litre weighed just over 2 tons 2 cwt with about 112Ib of fuel in the tank, compared to 2 tons 3 cwt of the average open 8-litre Bentley and 2 tons 10 cwt of a saloon, which would be capable of just over 101mph in good condition. As for reliability, Lycett drove his 8-litre 70,000 miles up to 1940 with the only major trouble being a gear wheel that picked up on its shaft during a Lewes speed trial, resulting in a long coast to the finish but still a second place in the unlimited sportscar class.

 

Dear old ‘Mac’ who achieved this result and whose McKenzie's Garages specialised in Rolls-Royce and Bentley work was himself a pioneer motorist. As a good Scot he began with steam but the first car 'Mac' drove was one of the earliest of Daimlers. He later drove both No1 Rolls-Royce and No1 Bentley, and followed his career at Napier's, Wolseley's, Daimler's and then at the R-R Derby works, in the days of the pre-WWI competition 40/50hp Royces. He raced vintage Bentleys like his 4½-litre two-seater 'Bluebell', the special engine of which was transferred to his green 4-seater. He won two races in a day at the Crystal Palace and Lycett and he took part in the 1936 Bentley Handicap at Brooklands with 4½s, respectively lapping at 97.46 and 91.05mph. In 1957, the Bentley Drivers Club commemorated ‘Mac’ with the scrutineering bay which until recently stood in the paddock at Silverstone.

 

Space precludes a full list of all Lycett's competition appearances but he started well, winning the unlimited sportscar class at the Lewes speed-trials in 1934, in 23.4sec, beating an Hispano-Suiza by 2.2sec and a Railton Terraplane by 3.0sec. At the next Lewes meeting he was second in a handicap class, from scratch, and at the Brighton speed-trials won his class, devouring the standing start half-mile in 278sec (64.75mph). In VSCC events, to which Lycett was elected a Vice President in 1937, and then its President for two terms of office before the war, he demonstrated the now-famous Bentley at the Crystal Palace circuit.

 

 

Continued on next page