The Birkin 137
The first of the ‘Fragmented Glimpses’ series, seen here on the Bentley stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Life Size
900 mm x 600 mm x 1000 mm
Sir Henry ’Tim’ Birkin is the most famous of the Bentley Boys. Amongst his many achievements, he set the lap record of 137.96 mph at the Brooklands racing circuit in 1932. This astonishing feat was accomplished using his modified ‘Blower Special’, a single seat racing car created especially for the Brooklands circuit. He needed all the 160mph potential of his car to maintain the average lap speed and is recreated here at the wheel in this life-size portrait. The sculpture explores our ability either to focus on a single aspect of a subject or to imagine the rest of it from only a ‘fragmented glimpse’.