Is this Slug; Bentley’s failed land speed record car?

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When you know your vintage Bentleys, you will be aware of the Barnato-Hassan Bentley 8-Litre Special, commissioned by millionaire Woolf Barnato and built by Bentley engineer Walter ‘Wally’ Hassan to conquer the Brooklands circuit. If you really know your stuff, you might also be familiar with the Pacey-Hassan Bentley 4½-Litre Special, built for Barnato’s racing companion Bill Pacey. But have you ever heard of another Bentley land-speed record car closely associated with Hassan and known as ‘Slug’? Possibly not, because the car’s record attempt ended dramatically, almost costing Hassan his life.

As a 20-year-old, Wally Hassan prepared a single-seater 3-Litre Bentley for a 24-hour record attempt at Montlhéry. The car performed well, averaging more than 95mph without trouble. This was in 1925. Bentley must have recognised the publicity value of record-breaking and decided to try again the following year with a single-seater Bentley—possibly the same car in modified form—which had by then become known as ‘Slug’. The aim was to set the first 24-hour record at an average speed of more than 100mph.

The drivers were to be Barnato once again, this time joined by George Duller. From what we have discovered, Barnato had covered just over 1,000 miles when Duller took over, only to skid on the banking. To quote the contemporary account: “Shaken, he drove into the pits to allow Barnato to take over, but he had gone off to eat. Only the young Walter Hassan was present. In an attempt to save the record bid, Hassan leapt into the driving seat and set off, managing only a third of a lap before the tricky handling of the ‘Slug’ sent the car skidding through the crash barrier. It rolled over, coming to rest astride a ditch with Hassan apparently dead. The car was a write-off, and because Hassan was not a nominated driver, any record would not have been officially recognised anyway. He recovered after spending three weeks in a private room at the American Hospital in Paris. It seems that the hospital’s refusal to accept any payment for Hassan’s treatment endeared its staff to the ‘financially astute’ W.O. Bentley.”

This does not seem to be a widely known story. In fact, we had not heard of it ourselves until this photograph came our way, accompanied only by the information that it showed a Bentley Special that had crashed at Montlhéry. Looking at its shape, one can easily imagine how the Slug earned its nickname. Surely it must be the same car? It is remarkable that so little appears to be known about it. There must be more photographs?

Words: Jeroen Booij, Photograph courtesy of Michael Cushing

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