Blower Bentley

by Michael Hay ISBN 9535827 2 Published by Number One Press, £65.00

Although Hay covered them in Bentley Factory Cars, this expansion must be the definitive word on Blowers. Majoring on the five works cars, Hay sets the scene with portraits of Birkin, Villiers and Dorothy Paget. Obsessive about details, but not adulatory about these legendary machines, Hay is frank about Villiers (who claimed superchargers were his invention). Sifting a vast range of sources, he contrasts differing stories to draw his own thoughtful conclusions, but he is equally good on the science at last I now understand just how Cozette and Powerplus superchargers differ.

Crisp photos both period and recent colour plus useful diagrams complement this perfect blend of fastidious research and readability.

Gordon Cruickshank