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Chassis:
One of the Speed Six Bentley's most famous off-track achievements was Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato's race against the Blue Train express between Cannes and Calais. Barnato had bragged that he could beat the train in his Speed Six at a Cannes party in 1930. He did so with time to spare even though there were no highways in France at the time and the March weather was appalling. To further proof his point, he crossed the Channel and continued on to London where he arrived four minutes before the Blue Train was due to arrive in Calais. His headline-grabbing exploit was eternalised in fantastic painting, which pictured the Blue Train and a Bentley Speed Six at speed.
Long believed to be the car used in the race, and commonly referred to as Blue Train Special, the spectacular Speed Six in the picture was not actually delivered to Barnato a few weeks after the race. This fact was not discovered until the Gurney Nutting Coupe joined the stable of the current owner, a prominent American collector. He believes that Barnato instead used a far more understated Speed Six, clothed by Mulliner with a four-door saloon body, which he now also owns. The owner revealed this discovery at Pebble Beach in 2003 where he showed both 'Blue Train' Bentleys side by side.
Still referred to as the Blue Train Special, the Gurney Nutting Coupe features a particularly striking two-door Coupe body. The one-off design offered room for two people up front while a third passenger had to sit sideways in the back. Well known throughout its life, the unique machine has been regularly shown on both sides of the Atlantic since it joined the current owner's collection.
| Chassis details |
| Manufactured in |
May 1930 |
| Engine number |
HM2863 |
| First owner |
Woolf Barnato |
| License plate |
GJ 3811 |
| Last known location |
American Private Collection |
| Appearances |
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Speed Six 'Blue Train Special'
