The Napier-Bentley is a

vintage Vintage, in winemaking, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product—wine (see Harvest (wine)). A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certa ...

racing car; a one-off special built in 1972 by David Llewellyn and Peter Morley. It was based on a chassis constructed from two 4-litre Bentley sideframe members, shortened and modified to a 10 foot wheelbase. It has a 24 Litre Napier Sea Lion W12 boat engine based on the Napier Lion aeroplane

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

(the same as that used in the silver Napier-Railton, which it resembles closely), which develops approximately . The Napier-Bentley is seen at historic racing events mostly in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but has been used at

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an events. Napier Bentley burnout Mallory Park

With its red bodywork and Napier-Railton-esque grille, it is spectacular and entertaining in action. Being a W12, the engine has three banks of four very large stub exhausts, one of which points straight out of the side of the car. The sound of the car has been likened to a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

biplane or

cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...

or mortar bombs going off. Due to the immense torque of the engine (c.1,400 ft-lbs), the rear tyres can be made to produce clouds of smoke whenever the car is launched, while the exhausts produce sparks, flames and

smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...

. During the 30 years that he owned the car Peter Morley and his son, Clive Morley, raced the car frequently until it was sold in 1999. Peter and Clive Morley, as well as Clive's two sons, are still active in racing vintage Bentleys. Since 1999, the car has been owned by Chris Williams, and coveted by his daughter, Rachael, who wishes to race it as well. Chris Williams later constructed another similar vintage special, the Packard-Bentley.

Possible Sources

:In the specialized press : https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/november-2004/103/bentley-napier :An appearance : https://www.chateauimpneyhillclimb.com/blog/chris-williams-napier-bentley-video/ :More pics on Bentley's vintage cars site : http://www.vintagebentleys.org/specials/0001.php {{commons category, Napier-Bentley Racing cars Napier Lion Cars powered by aircraft engines