YO !

Bugatti was talking about the slightly larger supercharged 4.5 Litre Bentley when he referred to it as "le camion plus vite du monde" or words to that effect. The comment was prompted by Tim Birkin who, remarkably, had just driven his stripped down blower to second place in the 1930 French grand prix at Pau!

A couple of comments, if I may, from an owner of a 3-Litre Bentley. I've driven our car over 30,000 miles. It will cruise at 60 easily and I've had it to 85, with a bit left. As for the brakes, contrary to Greg's comment, they are very good for the period and more than adequate for modern traffic conditions. If there is any complaint, they will fade with extended use such as a very long hill with a slow car ahead. The brake system on the 3-litre was essentially the same for the 4 1/2 and 6 1/2 litre cars. The improvements came with a band around the drum that helped with the fading and a DeWandre servo to help with the push.
If you want speed, then the 6-cylinder cars will easily top 100, more with minor modifications...and still stop.
I have also had the pleasure of driving and working on Mike Jukes car when he has it here in Maine. His car and mine were built about 3 months apart in 1926. Mike's has an aluminum panelled Vanden Plas body while ours is a fabric covered version, also an original body. Mike's car is very original. The wings are replacements many years ago, but the Interior is nearly all original...astounding for an open car of 86 years. I have a couple of Mike's collection here at our shop; a wonderful MG TC believed to have some U.S race history and a 1926 Franklin 11A victoria Coupe with 14,000 miles. And there is a Bugatti lurking within his garage somewhere...
Jon Lee

Foot brakes reasonably good, augmented with the hand brake when the sweat breaks out on the brow. Surprising.. and gratifying.. amount of extra.
Speed cable broken but Blue Max will move sharply along.
The real pleasure is in the corners with a little bit of slip under acceleration, nice control though.
What REALLY makes me uncomfortable is not my car but the others around me.

Brakes? Greg Johnson can't ever have driven a 30-98 Vauxhall! I'm sure Vauxhall brakes account for my hair being prematurely grey...

"W.O. Bentley"s had pretty good speed, not rocketships however, great low down torque. Howvere the real challenge for a vintage Bentley was stopping. The mechanical brakes on a "W.O." are wanting by any contemporary standards. They look GREAT however!!!

What was it that Ettore Bugatti always used to say: "Bentleys are fast trucks" ?

By today's standards the Bentley seems rather small compared to the SUV/truck parked next to it in the photo....
I wonder how they compare in terms of speed - The Bentley may well be the fastest "truck" even in today's standards.