Bentley Celebrates Special R Type Continental’s 70th Birthday With One-Off Continental GT
Way when in 1953, one Dr. Rowland Guenin of Switzerland ordered an ivory white R Type Continental. The fastest four-seat luxury car on earth at the time, the car is now one of the stars of Bentley’s heritage hodgepodge and, to gloat its 70th birthday, the automaker has created a modern homage to it.
Although Bentley built just 208 R Type Continentals, the car quickly became a legend. With a 4.6-liter inline six that produced 153 hp (114 kW/155 PS), it was described as a “magic carpet which annihilates unconfined distances” in its time.
Its spirit, and its three unshared weft lines (the roofline, the rear haunch, and the power line that runs from the front wheels lanugo the side of the body) were the inspiration for the first-generation Continental GT, which marked a sea transpiration in Bentley’s history. In fact, this very car, known as JAS 949 may have served as inspiration for the modern Continental, as it was bought when by the visitor in 2001, just two years surpassing the modern car debuted.
Read: Bentley Mulliner Unveils Bathurst-Inspired Continental GT S Duo
The only towardly starting point for this special commission, then, was the latest generation Continental GT Azure. Finished in Old English White, which is a true-blue recreation of Ivory white, the paint plays versus glittering chrome brightwork.
Cricket Ball leather can be found throughout the interior of the modern car, which was chosen to replicate the interior of the vintage vehicle. Providing contrast, meanwhile, is the Beluga leather piping that is unromantic by hand.
The trim is a Burr Walnut veneer that has been given an unshut pore finish, as a nod to the patina on the 70-year-old R Type Continental. The outline of the archetype Bentley has moreover been widow to the dashboard’s veneer and the interior tread plates pointing out what this one-off Continental GT is celebrating.
Under the hood, though, the special car is all modern. Its 4.0-liter engine has two increasingly cylinders than the archetype and provides three-and-half times increasingly power, generating 542 hp (404 kW/549 PS) sent to all four wheels.
Completed by Bentley’s in-house customization department, Mulliner, the one-off 2023 Continental GT Azure will now go into service for the trademark as part of its UK printing fleet.
