1930 Bentley Speed Six “Blue Train” Re-creation
Few automotive legends have proven as enduring (or as inaccurate) as the 1930 “Blue Train” race, in which Bentley chairman Woolf Barnato supposedly beat France’s overnight express from Cannes to London in a Speed Six coupé.
The story has been immortalized in paintings and enthusiast lore for decades, but the real event was less cinematic and more of a private wager carried out largely at night than the sun‑drenched Riviera chase often depicted.
In the popular version, Barnato drives a glamorous Gurney Nutting three‑seat Speed Six coupé, hammering up through France and arriving in London before the train, with the car’s rakish “helmet wing” rear, sidesaddle rear seat under the sloping roof, and oversized auxiliary headlamps forming a perfect piece of visual mythology.
Historian Clare Hay’s research, however, showed that this specific Gurney Nutting coupé was not yet completed by March 1930, when the run took place, which makes it almost certainly the wrong car for the actual journey.
The best evidence indicates that Barnato instead used an H.J. Mulliner‑bodied Speed Six saloon with a Weymann fabric body, a more practical four‑door touring car suited to a long overnight drive.
Most of the distance was covered in fog and darkness rather than under Mediterranean sunshine, and the “race” itself was informal. Barnato bet that he could reach his London club before the Blue Train reached Calais, then paying his own way when French authorities fined him for the stunt.
Mechanically, the Speed Six was the high‑performance evolution of Bentley’s 6 ½ Litre, using a 6.6‑litre (about 403 cu in) inline‑six with a single overhead camshaft and four valves per cylinder, tuned in various forms up to around 180 bhp for sporting applications, with strong torque and long‑legged gearing aimed at sustained high speeds.
It was this combination of endurance racing pedigree and relaxed, high‑speed touring capability that made the Speed Six a natural choice for Barnato’s high‑stakes dash across France.
Despite Bentley going into receivership in 1931 and being acquired by Rolls‑Royce, effectively ending W.O. Bentley’s independent company, the Blue Train story has only grown in prominence over time.
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