<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Painted black, the all-new Pacey-Hassan Special debuted on Easter Monday in 1936. Pacey's fastest lap average was 119.72 mph and he won the short handicap race with ease. Later in the year, he also won the Gold Star race, now with a fastest lap of 129.03 mph. Clearly, it had taken the handicappers some time to catch up with the car's remarkably rapid rate of progression. By the end of the year, Hassan had finally run out of compression plates to remove, so the handicaps actually had an effect.
To keep the car competitive, Hassan opted to fit the car with a supercharged engine for the 1937 season. The engine was an amalgamation of Bentley 3-Litre and 4½-Litre components and had a capacity of just under three litres. At the front of the engine, a massive Zoller supercharger was fitted with a pair of Zenith carburettors mounted on top. Hassan's accomplishments had not gone by unnoticed and early in 1937, he was hired by Raymond Mays to work for ERA. This effectively ended his involvement with the Bentley engined specials.
By the time Hassan moved on the supercharged engine had not been properly developed and it never worked properly. This prompted Pacey to have it removed and putting the 1936 engine back in place. It was to little avail as the car could do no better than eighth in the Brooklands 500 with a best lap of 120.01 mph. Disillusioned with the handicap system, Pacey decided to hang up his helmet and the Pacey-Hassan Special was not raced again after the 1937 season.
During the War, it was stored alongside the Barnato-Hassan at the Thomson & Taylor's Brooklands facility where it had originally been built. Shortly after the War, it was acquired by Geoffrey Cramer, who had an Alfa Romeo 8C inspired body fitted for use on the road. It then passed to Fred Morley, who raced the car in VSCC events. When the car passed to Fred's son Peter, he had it re-fitted with a single seater body and restored to its original configuration. One change was the use of hydraulic front brakes to make it safe for circuit racing.
In the early 1970s, it joined the stable of Iranian collector Fuad Majzub. It was then raced by Majzub and his Julian in historic events during their four-decade ownership. In 2010, it was finally offered for sale once more. Today, it is in the collection of a German enthusiast, who has since had Bentley specialist William Medcalf campaign the Pacey-Hassan in select events. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Painted black, the all-new Pacey-Hassan Special debuted on Easter Monday in 1936. Pacey's fastest lap average was 119.72 mph and he won the short handicap race with ease. Later in the year, he also won the Gold Star race, now with a fastest lap of 129.03 mph. Clearly, it had taken the handicappers some time to catch up with the car's remarkably rapid rate of progression. By the end of the year, Hassan had finally run out of compression plates to remove, so the handicaps actually had an effect.