Today, the focal point of the Bentley lineup is the Continental GT and its descendants, as you might expect, are aptly historical. Inspired by both the R-Type Continental’s name and design, the legendary car is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
The first delivery of the R-Type Continental was made in 1952, and at the time, it had the distinction of being the fastest four-seater in the world. It was also the most expensive car in production, valued at 6,928. At ট 140,156 (today’s exchange rate is $ 176,249 USD). It doesn’t do it justice, because, in 1952, it cost four times as much as the average house in England.
You got the car for that money, though, was pretty impressive. Inspired by Bentley’s pre-war experiments with aerodynamics, the company decided to build a smooth coupe based on the R-type Bentley saloon. As a result the model bears the first “continental” name in its history.
Read more: Continental GT Speed DNA finds its roots all the way to R-type Continental
Like the R-Type, the Continental was powered by a 4,566 cc Straight-Six. For the new model, the standard car is tuned to produce 153 hp (114 kW / 155 PS) instead of 140 hp (104 kW / 142 PS) and the transmission has a higher final drive ratio. Combining these changes, a car has been developed capable of traveling 118.75 miles per hour (191.1 km / h) over five laps on the Montalheri track near Paris.
In all, the automaker has created just 208 examples of the R-Type Continental, making it a rare sight to this day. Of these, 193 bodies were made by HJ Mullinar, five by Fran, three by Graber and one by Farina, where Park Ward made four dropheads and two coupes.
Bentley writes that when it was working to start its new era in 2003, it deliberately chose the continental name. The design of the new car was not only inspired by the R-Type Continental, but the claim to be the fastest four-seater in the world has been a direct tribute to the car since 1952.