Continental celebrates 70 years. Here’s a look at one of the rare originals.
Bentley has been around more than 100 years. It was in 1952 that the first Continental nameplate was used by the luxury automaker. Bentley celebrates 70 years of Continental by looking back at the R-Type Continental, the predecessor of the modern Continental GT.
It was rare to see the Bentley R-Type Continental, both today and in the 1950s. Only 208 examples of the Bentley R-Type Continental were produced between 1955 and 2003. When it was first introduced, it was the fastest four-seater car in the world. It was also one of the most popular automobiles. most expensive At PS6,928, or $8.737 today’s exchange rate. This amount was four times what the UK average house price back then.
The R-Type Continental was the brainchild of Ivan Evernden, Chief Projects Engineer and John Blatchley. It used a 4.6-liter, six-cylinder engine to produce 153 horsepower (113 megawatts). The prototype averaged 118.75 mph (191 km/h) in five laps on the Montlhery track.
HJ Mulliner bodied 193 of the 208 examples, while Park Ward (made four coupes and two dropheads), Franay (5), Graber (33) and Farina (11) completed the remainder of the limited-run production.
One of the R-Type Continentals currently in existence is under the care of the Bentley Heritage Collection. See the photos above. It is chassis BC16C, registration JAS 949.
JAS, or Bentley’s name for it, is a customer car that was first owned by Dr. Rowland Guenin, Switzerland. The unit was ordered in Ivory and fitted with a Red interior by Bentley in 2001. It has been kept in excellent mechanical condition and its patina is being maintained. The classic car, which is regularly driven, is often on display at the Bentley campus as well as at other events around the globe.