If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then this Bentley Blue Train Recreation must be the most flattering tribute of all. Unlike many modern remakes, this car, created by European specialists Racing Green Engineering, was hand-built using traditional methods and features numerous period touches to get it as close to the original as possible.
Now as it turns out, the exact car that Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato used to take on the famous French Blue Train express from Cannes to Calais has been in dispute for decades. Some maintain that it was, in fact, the visually less striking fabric-covered sedan built by H.J. Mulliner in 1929 that won the race, while others say that it was most definitely the swoopy coupe on which this car is based, that was used. A Terence Cuneo painting depicting the 6½ liter Bentley Speed Six 6 which this recreation emulates further confused matters.
These contentions do little to take away from this superbly built car, however. It’s built around a Bentley MkVI chassis and running gear and an 8-cylinder B-series engine, and it features an ash timber frame and hand-crafted aluminum bodywork based on the original J. Gurney Nutting coachwork design. The deep black exterior color gives this stunning coupe a rather menacing look.
The interior also features the highest quality materials with seating surfaces covered in tobacco brown Connolly leather and the doors and dashboard inlaid with polished walnut trim. The car was finished in 2018 for its first owner and has since accrued just 1216 miles. It is presented in practically as-new condition by specialists Canepa and comes complete with a cocktail cabinet with pressed crystal glasses and a trunk-mounted toolkit which includes a disconcertingly large hammer to loosen the wheel spinners. With most Bentley’s hailing from the 1920s and ’30s now commanding rather hefty prices, this immaculately built recreation offers a far more palatable entry point into the marque.
Images courtesy of Canepa
