We take it for granted that Bentleys are expensive: Over $200,000 for a new Bentayga or Continental GT, for example, or upwards of $300k for a Mulsanne. But $7 million?

Yep, that’s about how much this vintage pre-war Bentley is expected to sell for during the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance come March. But as you might have guessed, there’s a lot of history to this particular Flying B.

What you’re looking at is a 1928 Bentley 4½-Litre Le Mans Sports – billed as “one of the most important Bentleys in existence.” Chassis number KM3088 is a “Bobtail,” owing to its Vanden Plas bodywork, but there’s far more to it than that.

It was entered twice at Le Mans, finishing third on the podium in 1929. It also finished second at the Brooklands Double Twelve that year, making it one of just two factory team cars that claimed podium two finishes that year. It was subsequently used for practice before being sold to a private owner – the first of many, though it spent more than 40 years in the hands of the same Rose family.

Well documented, immaculately preserved, and fully restored, the Bobtail is expected to fetch between $6.5 and 7.5 million when RM Sotheby’s auctions it off March 10-11 at the Ritz-Carlton on the tony Florida isle. If it lands right in the middle of its pre-sale estimate range, the big Bentley will match the Jaguar E-Type that topped the Scottsdale auctions earlier this month to open 2017 as the most expensive car sold at auction so far this year.

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