There is nothing that gets the heart pumping quite like a 1930’s sports car that’s run by an old Lancaster Spitfire engine. Meet the Bentley Meteor.
Here at JOE we love modern sports cars like the McLaren F1 or Koenigsegg Agera. But the cars of yesteryear will always hold a special spot in our hearts, because lets face it, they don’t make them like they use to. Although that’s mostly because they’re not allowed to make them like they use to.
Seen here is a classic Bentley from the ‘inter-war’ years that features some modern technology without affecting the credibility of the bespoke motor. The main attraction is easily the pristine engine.
The car is powered by a monstrous 27-litre Rolls Royce engine, a derivation of the legendary Merlin engine that once propelled warplanes – and tanks too. It features 12 separate exhausts and 24 spark plugs.
Amazingly the engine easily churns out 660 bhp, which is around the same as the Ferrari Enzo. The Meteor is a tad slower than the Enzo however, as it reaches a top speed of 160 mph (257 kph). As droolingly delicious as all that sounds, the engine could be a little big for the average motorists motoring-boots, as the car gets a measly… two miles to the gallon.
Considering the SEAT Leon TDI gets around 67 miles per gallon, the Bentley might be classed as a bit of a gas-guzzler. But if you can afford a Bentley from the 30’s, petrol prices would be the least of your worries – especially as it has a 310 litre gas tank.
Starting this monster isn’t the easiest of tasks. According to The Telegraph, to start the Bentley Meteor, one must start the engine cold which means letting the engine spin with the ignition off to get the vital fluids circulating (64 litres of coolant, 57 of lubricant for the engine, 16 for the gearbox).
After that, you then have to flick the twin magneto switches (ex-Lancaster) and push the starter button (ex-Spitfire).
The Bentley Meteor is certainly the ‘Granddaddy’ of classic cars, one that we wouldn’t half mind trading a V12 Vanquish for, or dare we say it, a DB5.
The Meteor was created in Bob Petersen’s acclaimed Devon-based workshop. You can check out some of their other creations at their website www.bobpetersenengineering.co.uk.
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