Bentley to release limited-edition Speed Six Continuation Series

MANILA: Bentley Mulliner will revive the legendary Speed Six with a new and highly exclusive Continuation Series of 12 cars. Each vehicle will be mechanically and aesthetically true to the Bentley racers that won Le Mans in 1929 and 1930. The new Speed Sixes, Bentley Mulliner's second pre-war continuation project after the Blower, were designed to honor the accomplishments of the original cars and to further improve and preserve Mulliner's heritage skills.

The Speed Six, the most successful Bentley racing car of its time, is recognized as one of the most significant Bentleys in history. It proved the concept of the Grand Tourer, a fast car that was luxurious and capable of traveling long distances. Since then, every Bentley has adhered to this philosophy.

The same Mulliner team that created the Blower Continuation Series has conceived and will build the 12-car series. The new 4½-liter "Blower" Bentleys were based on the 1929 Team Car #2, the most well-known and valuable Bentley in the world that competed with the Speed Six in 1930.

Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive Adrian Hallmark made the announcement about the Speed Six Continuation Series at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

“After incredible levels of skill were acquired by the Mulliner team through the development of the Blower Continuation Series, and with the success of the cars with their customers, a chance to honor the Speed Six is a fantastic next step. It’s vital that we protect, preserve and develop not just this important part of our heritage, but also the knowledge we’ve gained through working with these classic Bentleys. The Speed Six is one of the most important Bentleys in our 103-year history, and the 12 cars of the Continuation Series will embody the same values as WO Bentley’s originals, crafted by hand with the same meticulous attention both to engineering quality and to fanatical attention to detail. The lucky owners will be able to race their cars around the world, and truly relive the exploits of the original Bentley Boys,” Hallmark stated.

The Mulliner team will be assisted by artisans from various automotive heritage specialists throughout the UK, providing recreation parts that are not only physically identical but are generally made using the same techniques utilized in the 1920s. The success of such a challenging project depends on this commitment to total authenticity.

The Speed Six, a high-performance version of the 6½ liter, rose to fame as Bentley's most successful racing car after Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry Birkin, and Glen Kidston drove it to victories at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930.

In contrast to Birkin's belief in supercharging, WO Bentley thought that increasing capacity was the best way to boost power. e consequently created a new, larger engine to replace the 4½-liter engine. His new straight six had a capacity of around 6.6 liters and featured a bore and stroke of 100mm and 140mm, respectively. The 6½ liter produced 147bhp at 3500rpm in base form with a single Smiths five-jet carburetor, twin magnetos, and a compression ratio of 4.4:1. 362 units were produced at the Bentley factory in Cricklewood, North London, on a variety of chassis of different lengths depending on the body style requirements of various customers.

The Speed Six chassis was introduced in 1928. With the addition of twin SU carburetors, a higher compression ratio, and a high-performance camshaft, the engine's power output was increased to 180bhp. Customers may choose among wheelbases of 3,505mm, 3,569mm, or 3,874mm for the Speed Six, with the shortest chassis being the most preferred. 182 Speed Six units were produced between 1928 and 1930.

The Speed Six's racing version featured a wheelbase of 3,353mm and an upgraded engine with a 6.1:1 compression ratio and 200bhp. The Speed Six's two wins at Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 solidified its place in Bentley history, with the 1929 triumph establishing a new standard of supremacy at the race. A Speed Six, driven by Barnato and Birkin, took the lead from the first lap to the finish line, followed by a group of three other Bentleys. Birkin broke two records: a lap record of 7:21, cutting 46 seconds off the previous best and requiring an average speed of 83mph and a distance record of 2,844 km.

The Mulliner team first built a complete 3D CAD model of the car using the original blueprints and in-depth analysis of original cars in order to build 12 new Speed Sixes that are true to the design of the racers of 1929 and 1930. Two cars have been used as references for this process.

The third of Bentley's three Speed Sixes that raced at Le Mans in 1930 was known as “Old Number 3.” Despite a challenging race, it survived the ordeal and has been meticulously preserved ever since. Old Number 3 has been a useful resource for design details and reference points for the development of the new cars because it is still fully road legal and is actively raced by its owner today.

Alongside Old Number 3, Bentley's own Speed Six (GU409), a 1929 road car with a similar four-seat Vanden Plas body as the original racers, is a part of Bentley's growing Heritage Collection. It was restored to the same specifications. GU409 will provide benchmark performance and handling data for the continuation cars, including a full power and torque curve for the 12 new engines to match or surpass.

The first new Speed Six in 92 years will be produced in the second half of this year, and will serve as the project's engineering test and development car.

Photos from Bentley

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