Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Sportsman's Coupé

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Bentley Speed Six 'Blue Train Special'

This Speed Six Bentley's most famous off-track achievements was Bentley Boy Woolf Barnato's race against the Blue Train express between Cannes and Calais. Barnato had bragged that he could beat the train in his Speed Six at a Cannes party in 1930. He did so with time to spare even though there were no highways in France at the time and the March weather was appalling. To further proof his point, he crossed the Channel and continued on to London where he arrived four minutes before the Blue Train was due to arrive in Calais. His headline-grabbing exploit was eternalised in fantastic painting, which pictured the Blue Train and a Bentley Speed Six at speed. - Written by Wouter Melissen for ultimate car page. Despite the myth this is not the car that raced and beat the train. It was believed this was the car that was in the race for years until 1999 when it was discovered this car was not built at the time of the race. Meaning that it was Barnato's other Bentley S/N BA2592 that was in the race. Despite this S/N HM2855 is still referred to as the 'Blue Train Special' since it was immortalized in Terence Cuneo's painting of the race. Currently both BA2592 and HM2855 are owned by the same person.