A Forest of Dean used car dealer has taken up a rare opportunity to become the sole UK agent for vintage Petersen Bentleys.

Avenue Cars director Nick Broady is the proud owner of a 1935 Petersen Bentley Blower, which led to the company getting the prestigious agency deal.

Nick's business partner, Andrew Perry, said: "The Bentley was first used to draw people to our website and also as a marketing tool for the garage. But it proved so popular, that we were having more enquiries than the actual manufacturer through this advertising."

Petersen Bentleys, which were built between about 1930 and 1940, are extremely rare and worth in the region of £3 million, and these extremely accurate recreations start from £450,000.

Andrew continued: "There's been around 100 Petersen cars built so far. There are four or five in Gloucestershire and around 20 in total across the UK."

The vintage cars are built and recreated at Petersen Engineering in Devon, using traditional methods and period parts. They are built to authentic coachwork patterns and dimensions of a genuine 1930s Bentley.

Andrew said: "These are re-made vintage Bentleys. You order your car to your exacting specification, and it will use an existing Bentley's chassis number and registration number.

"It's got period looks and, to all intents and purposes, you wouldn't know the difference between an original car to a car that's just been built."

Other models can be recreated in a similar way to the Bentley Blower. These include the Birkin Racer, Boat Tail, Dartmoor Coupe, Bluetrain Special, 27 litre Meteor Special, Embo Derby Bentley and Speed 6.

If anyone would like to order a new car for themselves, they should go through Avenue Cars to order the vehicle.

To find out more about Avenue Cars' Petersen Bentleys, call 01452 521211 or visit www.avenuecars.com/petersen-bentley