Clive Gallop
Colonel Reginald Clive Gallop (4 February 1892 – 7 September 1960) was a British engineer, racing driver and World War I pilot who helped Bentley Motors create its first engines and later worked on fast racing cars.
Born in Cairo, Gallop joined the Royal Flying Corps and flew on the Western Front, eventually commanding No. 56 Squadron. Through his wartime work, he met W. O. Bentley, who was designing aero engines. Gallop helped bring Bentley’s early engines, the BR1 and BR2 rotarys, into service with the Royal Flying Corps.
After the war, Gallop joined a Cricklewood group led by W. O. Bentley to build new cars. He designed a 3,000 cc straight-four engine featuring several innovations for its time, including four valves per cylinder, two spark plugs per cylinder, pent-roof combustion chambers and twin carburetors. The engine produced around 70 horsepower and helped power Bentley’s 3 Litre and faster models.
From 1921, Gallop worked with Count Louis Zborowski at Higham Park as a racing driver and engineer. He co-drove in races and helped design cars such as Chitty Bang Bang and the White Mercedes. The team did desert testing in 1922, and Zborowski died in 1924 while racing.
Gallop rejoined Bentley Motors in 1925 and helped develop the larger Bentley 4½ Litre engine, contributing to the Speed Six. He also played a key role in the Blower Bentley project, which added a Roots-type supercharger to extract more power from the 4½ L engine. The Blower Bentley was shown in 1929 and became famous for its speed, though it had early reliability challenges.
Gallop remained involved in motorsport and engineering until his death. He died after being thrown from a skidding car in Leatherhead, Surrey, on 7 September 1960. He died on arrival at hospital.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:59 (CET).