The Most Expensive Bentley Ever Sold Went For Over $6M - Here's What Makes It So Special

Bentley cars never come cheap. For example, a brand-new Continental GT — one of which we've recently driven and reviewed – costs just south of $300,000, and with options that figure is soon exceeded. However, if you've got really deep pockets and a wish to empty them, then perhaps a classic Bentley is a better option.

As it happens, the most expensive Bentley ever sold at auction is almost a century old, dating way back to 1929. The model in question is a single-seat 4 1⁄2-Liter Supercharged Blower Bentley, and it managed to fetch an awesome £5,042,500, including premium, back in 2012 at a Bonhams auction held at Goodwood. That's the equivalent of around $6.2 million. Supercharged Bentleys like this from the '20s and '30s aren't exactly common, but a decent number of them do still exist, and they change hands for an awful lot less than this. So, what makes this example so special and valuable?

Racing heritage and pedigree, that's what this particular example can brag with. This car once belonged to Sir Henry Tim Birkin, and the Honorable Dorothy Paget — once the wealthiest unmarried woman in England. It's the same machine Birkin used to break the Brooklands Outer Circuit lap record in 1932, clocking in at an incredible 137.96 mph. History like this just cannot be recreated, which is why collectors scramble to own such a car, forcing the price sky high in an auction environment.

Boosting this Bentley is a Villiers Roots-type supercharger mounted in front of the radiator, which increases the four-cylinder engine's output to about 240 horsepower. Fueled by a potent methanol mix, it wasn't exactly built for long Sunday drives — fuel consumption hit just over 2 MPG. On the track, though, that didn't matter. This single-seat racer was all about performance, and cracking almost 138 mph around Brooklands demonstrated this fact.

The car's original fabric body was replaced in 1930 by a fire-resistant aluminum shell designed by Reid Railton. It's also worth mentioning that this slippery-looking pre-war racer sported no front brakes, and a final drive ratio of 2.8:1, both of which were meant to prioritize performance around the once thriving British track.

The car has since been rebuilt and raced by loyal enthusiasts like Rusty Russ-Turner, and later George Daniels, but never over-restored, the car still retaining much of its original character. A story as fascinating as this definitely places this as one of the best Bentleys of all time.

Hold on, how can this be the most expensive Bentley sold at auction, if another Bentley has since netted a better result? Well, it's quite simple actually; the other Bentley never actually sold. The car in question hails from the same era, and is also is a supercharged 4 1⁄2-Liter model, albeit a Sports 2/3-Seater Boattail model. Only 50 of these were ever produced, and this example is exceedingly rare, still sporting its original bodywork and matching numbers drivetrain.

It came up for auction at the 2012 Gooding & Co. Pebble Beach auction, with an estimate of $8 to 10 million, so considerably more than the aforementioned single-seater model. Despite being dubbed one of the most significant Bentley cars out there, with a final hammer price of $7.1 million, it fell shy of reserve and did not sell. So, yes, it's more valuable, but because it didn't sell, it can't be labelled as the most expensive Bentley ever sold at auction. 

If it had been sold, it would've become the most expensive British car ever sold at auction at the time; an accolade now held by a 1956 Aston Martin DBR1. The one-of-five Aston Martin fetched a cool $22.5 million, which almost makes these two pre-war racing Bentleys look like quite good deals.