1929 Bentley Sales for Record $7 Million
A 1929 Bentley that was once raced by Sir Henry "Tiger Tim" Birkin sold for a record price on Monday during the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The red car, known as a Bentley Blower, was the original master craft work of Charles Daniels and one of only 54 that were built.
"For all its inconvenience it is a most exhilarating car to drive both on the road and track," Daniels once wrote of his own handiwork.
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The car was previously owned and raced by Sir Henry "Tiger Tim" Birkin, who was one the most famous members of the Bentley Boys, according to Daily Mail. The group was composed of wealthy men who raced the sports cars from the 1920s to the 1930s.
Birkin died at the age of 36 after being burned by an exhaust. The burn became infected and he died from septicaemia just five years after he broke record speed at the Brooklands Outer Circuit race, hitting 137 mph in the now-vintage car.
The car broke yet another record on Saturday during the Goodwood auction, selling for the high price of over $7 million, or just over five million British pounds. The previous most expensive British car ever sold, a 1904 Rolls Royce, earned the record in 2007 at $3.5 million pounds.
'"The prices achieved for George Daniels's cars today are a fitting tribute to one of the truly great artist engineers of the 20th Century," Malcolm Barber, Bonhams chief executive officer and auctioneer at the Daniels sale told Daily Mail. "The prices achieved for George Daniels's cars today are a fitting tribute to one of the truly great artist engineers of the 20th Century."
