No estimate has been advised; however, given its provenance (owned by arch-enthusiast, British ex-pat Charles R.J. Noble or his family for more than 55 years) and the fact that as one of the 50 original ‘Blowers’, and one of just three supplied as Le Mans-specification chassis, we are expecting it to change hands for an impressively high figure.

The supercharged Bentleys, commonly referred to as ‘Blowers’, were conceived by ‘Bentley Boy’ Sir Tim Birkin and funded by the ample inheritance of heiress Miss Dorothy Paget. For homologation reasons, 50 examples of the supercharged version of Bentley’s familiar 4.5 litre motor car had to be built.

The project, though, as a private initiative, never found favour with W.O. Bentley – and no 'Blower' ever won Le Mans.

Photos: Bonhams, Pavel Litwinski