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Black Adder 6 is a modified Crewe Bentley also known as a Special, based on a 1947 Mark VI. It is fitted with a 4.9 litre Bentley straight-six motor with a Continental large valve head and an "R-type" Continental transmission. Description This car started life as a 1947 standard steel saloon built in Crewe with coachwork by the Pressed Steel Company to Bentley’s standard design. It was the 23rd Bentley Mk VI built after World War II. Since the 1930s, Bentleys have served as the starting point for an unusual genre of automobile, which the Bentley Drivers Club recognizes as an exhibition category- the Bentley Special. In British motoring parlance, a "Special" is a one-off design using components of an existing vehicle that is intended to test the limits of the original design and is often intended for competition. Over one hundred Bentley Specials have been built over the years, ranging from vintage 3 liter cars fitted with supercharged 8 liter engines, to factory concepts like the Blizzard and the Java. The genre has been popular enough to inspire a book in two volumes by Michael Hay, titled Bentley Specials and Special Bentleys. These cars are popular with vintage racing enthusiasts, hill climbers, and rally drivers. In the 1970’s, a ready supply of Mk VI and R-Type Bentleys formed the core of a new era of Specials. Foremost among these were the “Doningtons” of Johnard Vintage Car, which built 16 Specials between 1975 and 1982. Based on the standard Mk VI Bentley, the “Donington Specials” were shortened and lowered, being built around a 9-foot wheelbase with a standard B-Series engine, though in at least four cases fitted with more powerful S1 4.9 Liter motors or Rolls-Royce V8 6.3 Liter motors. This car was the 4th Donington built. In 1999, a Bentley Donington Special (B63 FU), driven by the team of Arnold and Nora Schulze and Jutta Breuer competed in the Peking to Paris race where it finished 4th out of 16 participants in the touring class. Sometimes regarded by Bentley “purists” as an unwanted stepchild of the marque, it was clear that the Bentley Special had come of age. After its initial conversion, B46 AK led a somewhat hard life as a Special. It was raced in the UK and competed in a number of events, winning the Bentley Drivers Club’s Kensington Show Best in Class (Modified Crewe Bentley) in 1979 and 1983. By 2005, more than 30 years on the road had taken its toll and its new owner decided it could use a full makeover. The intent was to evoke the spirit of the winning cars the "Bentley Boys" raced at Le Mans in the late '20s, but also to make a car that was tractable and reliable as well as fast. The car was completely stripped to its bare frame and a custom aluminum boat-tailed body was hand fabricated. At the same time, every mechanical component was refurbished, almost entirely out of parts from the “Factory Parts Bin.” In addition to its new aluminum body and cycle fenders, B46 AK features a specially built Bentley 4.9 liter straight six engine with a Continental “big valve” cylinder head and twin SU carbs. This engine is mated to a high-ratio transmission from a Bentley R-Type Continental Lightweight. Cooling is handled through a custom-fabricated radiator and the 24-gallon gas tank gives the car tremendous range on the track or in time/distance events. The original Donington chassis was largely unchanged, though special modifications were made for the steering column and a new bulkhead was fitted. In keeping with Bentley engineering practice, all controls are run through linkages, entirely sourced from pre-war Bentley and Rolls-Royce parts. B46 AK is a blisteringly fast, yet manageable Bentley roadster that upholds the tradition of these special cars. Significant Events Best of Show and Best of Class at "Britain on the Green," which took place at Gunston Hall, April 26, 2015. At the 2015 Rolls-Royce Owners Club (RROC) National Meet, Black Adder was the first "Bentley Special" permitted to be judged and won a 3rd Place in its class. In 2012, the Black Adder 6 was awarded 1st in Class in the Concours d'Elegance at British Invasion XXII. In 2011, it achieved a 1st in class at the British Invasion XXI. It won Best in Class at the Bentley Drivers Club (BDC) annual Kensington Meet in 1979 and 1983 and the Trofia Elegancia at Girona, Spain in 1978. 〔″Bentley Specials and Special Bentleys Volumes 1 and 2 Ray Roberts. Haynes Pub. Group ; Newbury Park, Calif., USA : Haynes Publications, 1990 〕 〔http://www.britishinvasion.com/Awards.html〕 〔″The Third Life of B46AK, Part I,″ ''Review'', Oct 2011, No 277, Wroxton, Bentley Drivers Club, 272–273, 2011.〕 〔″The Third Life of B46AK, Part II,″ ''Review'', Dec 2011, No 278, Wroxton, Bentley Drivers Club, 350–352, 2011.〕 == References == 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Black Adder 6」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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