The Bentley Speed Six continuation cars are now in production, bringing back a design that first appeared more than nine decades ago.
Bentley revealed the Speed Six continuation car prototype last year, but is now working on the first of 12 customer cars, all of which have already been sold, the automaker said in a press release. Each car will take 10 months to build, Bentley estimates.
Production is being carried out by Bentley’s Mulliner customization department, with the help of external suppliers, all using period-correct materials and tooling. For example, Bentley ordered special tools to press the rails and cross members of the Speed Six’s steel frame, a process that itself took six months, according to the automaker.
1930 Bentley Speed Six Continuation series production
As with the original cars, a handcrafted ash wood body wrapped in fabric is mounted to the chassis. Continuation cars are then fitted with headlights, radiators and fuel tanks supplied by restoration specialists. The latter is made of hand-beaten steel and copper.
The 6.5-liter inline-6 is recreated using 3D models generated from the original blueprints. This engine produced around 200 hp in its day, while subsequent cars produced 205 hp. Production could have been increased further with modern materials, according to Bentley, but the automaker wanted the continuation cars to be as close to the originals as possible.
The Speed Six is one of the cars that helped create the Bentley legend. Introduced in 1928, it won the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year and in 1930. Wold Barnato, then head of the company, also used a sedan-bodied Speed Six to race by train across France in 1930. Barnato and co- Pilot Dale Bourne covered 570 miles, averaging 43.4 mph on unpaved roads.
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1930 Bentley Speed Six Continuation series production
The continuation cars, Bentley’s second continuation project following modern examples of the 1929 Bentley Blower, used two original cars as models: the GU409, owned by the company, and the “Old Number 3”, winner of Le Mans in 1930, which was made available by its owner for this purpose. The continuation cars incorporate changes made in the period to improve reliability in the 1929 and 1930 Le Mans races.
Customer cars also benefited from testing of the Speed Six continuation car prototype, which underwent 40 hours of engine testing, 6,213 miles of durability testing and top speed runs where it reached 180 mph.