The Continental Story

Designed by W.O. Bentley in 1919, the year Bentley Motors was founded, the 3-Litre went on sale in 1921. The use of the metric system in its name hinted at the ambition to create a car for the fast, open roads of the Continent. With innovative features for the time, including a crossflow cylinder head, twin spark plugs and twin carburettors, its phenomenal performance was confirmed by victories at Le Mans, with John Duff and Frank Clement taking first place in 1924 and Dr ‘Benjy’ Benjafield and Sammy Davis doing the same in 1927. Its touring credentials were praised by The Autocar magazine for combining “docility in traffic with exceptional speed potentiality on the open road”. Bentley’s grand touring tradition had started in style.

In 1930, Bentley created the 8-Litre, a car so powerful the company proclaimed it would be capable of 100 mph whatever type of body the owner chose. W.O. considered it to be his masterpiece – and others agreed. Reviewing it for The Tatler, Captain W. Gordon Aston said: “Never in my life have I known a vehicle in which such a prodigious performance was linked to such smooth, unobtrusive quietness.” This combination of speed and quietness helped make grand touring even more pleasurable. Sadly, it launched shortly after the Wall Street crash, which meant only 100 of these extraordinary cars were ever built.  Read more about the 8-Litre Bentley here.  

Bentley have created a Limited Edition Mulsanne which celebrates W.O.'s 8-Litre.  Click here to see more.

In 1938, André Embiricos, a wealthy Greek racing driver living in Paris, commissioned a Bentley 4 ½ Litre with a sleek, aerodynamic body made from Duralumin, a lightweight aluminium alloy. The car had the ideal qualities of a grand tourer, delivering exceptional speed on the track (achieving 114 mph over an hour at Brooklands) while also being civilised enough to enjoy on the road. This one-off car inspired Bentley to bring its benefits to a wider audience in the years to come.

Unveiled at Geneva in 1991, the Continental R was the first Bentley of the Rolls Royce era not to share a body with a Rolls Royce model. With its own distinctive design, as well as a Bentley turbo engine under the bonnet, this two-door coupé redefined the grand tourer for the 1990s. Later, the Continental T shortened the wheelbase and increased the power to push the performance envelope still further.

The third-generation Continental GT has once again redefined Bentley’s vision of the grand tourer. Its sharp, elegant form, all-new 6.0-litre W12 engine and 8-speed transmission deliver agile, exhilarating driving, while exquisite craftsmanship combined with innovative technology provides truly luxurious comfort. Arriving almost a century after the first 3 Litre, this is the last word in grand touring – for now. Bentley will continue to enable effortlessly exhilarating long-distance travel for many more decades to come.