Packard-Bentley
Encyclopedia
The Packard-Bentley "Mavis" is a vintage
racing car built by VSCC
member Chris Williams. It is powered by a 42 litre
Packard
V12
developing 1500 bhp (1100 kW). This engine is a Packard 4M 2500 from a World War 2 PT boat.
The car debuted at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power in July 2010, and is planned to become a regular appearance at VSCC events algonside Williams' other Bentley
special, the Napier "Lion Bastard"
. When interviewed about it, Williams claimed the car has been light-heartedly criticised as the "biggest automotive waste of time, money and engineering expertise ever built".
The car is based on a 1930 Bentley 8-litre
chassis, although it is highly modified. The car also has 24 exhaust pipes, however it is only has 12 cylinders, contrary to some rumours; this is because the engine is a twin-port design. The steering column is offset and angled to allow it to clear the huge engine block, and the fake torpedoes
strapped to the side of the car are actually oil tanks.
With the matt-black paint and v-shaped grille, the large size of the car means it drew much attention at its first event. With the amount of torque produced by the engine (2000 lb ft, 2700 Nm), the rear tyres can be made to create large volumes of smoke upon launch, whilst the 24 exhaust stubs emit clouds of smoke and streamers of flame. Unsurprisingly, the car is a very popular spectator attraction, both static and whilst being driven.
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
racing car built by VSCC
Vintage Sports-Car Club
The Vintage Sports-Car Club or VSCC is a British motor racing club. Established "towards the end of 1934" by Tim Carson and Tom Rolt to promote the pastime of motoring, the VSCC was first started in order to allow the "not so rich" to enjoy historic motoring.. General guidelines made the club...
member Chris Williams. It is powered by a 42 litre
Litre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
Packard
Packard
Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...
V12
V12 engine
A V12 engine is a V engine with 12 cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of six cylinders, usually but not always at a 60° angle to each other, with all 12 pistons driving a common crankshaft....
developing 1500 bhp (1100 kW). This engine is a Packard 4M 2500 from a World War 2 PT boat.
The car debuted at the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power in July 2010, and is planned to become a regular appearance at VSCC events algonside Williams' other Bentley
Bentley
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley known as W.O. Bentley or just "W O". Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later...
special, the Napier "Lion Bastard"
Napier-Bentley
The Napier Bentley is a vintage racing car; a one-off special built in 1968 by David Llewellyn. It was originally built on a Sunbeam chassis, but after a serious accident was re-built on the chassis of a 1929 8 Litre Bentley...
. When interviewed about it, Williams claimed the car has been light-heartedly criticised as the "biggest automotive waste of time, money and engineering expertise ever built".
The car is based on a 1930 Bentley 8-litre
Bentley 8 Litre
The 8 Litre was the largest and most luxurious Bentley car designed and the last new model introduced by W O Bentley at Bentley Motors Limited in Cricklewood London prior to the purchase of W O 's business by Rolls-Royce to wipe out its dangerous competition for their Phantom II...
chassis, although it is highly modified. The car also has 24 exhaust pipes, however it is only has 12 cylinders, contrary to some rumours; this is because the engine is a twin-port design. The steering column is offset and angled to allow it to clear the huge engine block, and the fake torpedoes
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
strapped to the side of the car are actually oil tanks.
With the matt-black paint and v-shaped grille, the large size of the car means it drew much attention at its first event. With the amount of torque produced by the engine (2000 lb ft, 2700 Nm), the rear tyres can be made to create large volumes of smoke upon launch, whilst the 24 exhaust stubs emit clouds of smoke and streamers of flame. Unsurprisingly, the car is a very popular spectator attraction, both static and whilst being driven.