This year marks the 100th anniversary of Bentley, founded in 1919 by British engineer Walter Owen Bentley. A “special edition” confirmed to debut in March at the Geneva Motor Show will kick off the party, and based on the design of the hood and grille, we’re dealing with the Continental GT.
White accents for the grille and the years 1919 and 2019 embedded in the hood-mounted logo are visible, along with British Racing Green paintwork. It’s hard to tell what type of BRG the special edition is painted in, though the number 9 on the grille appears to be a tribute to dark green-painted Blower No. 9.
Described as “the most famous Bentley in the world,” Blower No. 9 of Sir Henry “Tim” Birkin raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1930. He and Jean Chassagne managed to race for 138 laps, coming in on 11th, while a second Blower (No. 8) completed 144 laps for 10th place.
On the other hand, listen closely to the teaser clip. The broadcaster talks about 60 cars on the grid, which gets us to the 1926 edition of Le Mans. No. 9 was one of three 3-Litre cars entered in the 24-hour endurance race, but as fate would have it, No. 9 retired with a broken valve. Even more curiously, the teaser clip shows Bentley in the winners' corner at Le Mans, but that didn’t happen in 1926. 1930, on the other hand, marks the final victory for the Bentley Boys.
Team Bentley went on to repeat the feat in 2003 with Tom Kristensen, Rinaldo Capello, and Guy Smith, besting another Bentley and the Audi R8 LMP of Champion Racing. These being said, does it even matter which car or Le Mans is referenced by Bentley?
Turning our attention back to the limited-run Continental GT, the automaker talks about “a highly evocative model.” Bentley’s website already has a section where customers can register interest in the yet-to-be-revealed grand tourer.
Don’t expect a bump in horsepower or torque, though. The W12 gave Bentley a few problems over the switch from NEDC to WLTP. On the other hand, the twin-turbo engine in the Bentayga Speed is expected to churn out 650 PS (641 horsepower).
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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