New GT coupé true to Bentley Grand Touring Heritage

Crewe, 20th February 2002... From the Speed Six of 1928, via the R-Type Continental of 1952 to the soon to be launched GT coupé , Bentley Motors' unique and seamless bloodline of sporting GT (Grand Touring) cars remains strong. Insiders who have seen it are in no doubt: Bentley's new GT coupé clearly maintains the traditions of the powerful GT cars established by W O Bentley himself and built by the best designers and engineers of the day.

Realised from the genes epitomised in previous great Bentleys, the GT coupé's design cues include the complex and powerful curves of the 1952 R-Type Continental as well as the ethos of the Le Mans winning Speed Six from the late twenties. This new Bentley's design acknowledges and reflects Bentley Grand Tourers from the past as well as showcasing the design and engineering skills of Bentley Motors in the 21st Century, skills which work seamlessly alongside each other.

The 1952 Bentley R-Type Continental was, when launched, the fastest four-seat car then available. Built by H J Mulliner & Co. - a company now fully incorporated into Bentley Motors - each of the 193 lightweight bodies was an eloquent statement of aerodynamics and aesthetics.

Created 24 years earlier was the Bentley Speed Six. The natural predecessor to the R-Type Continental was developed as a sporting version of the Standard Six to carry grand touring-style coachwork and be a sporting car without equal. A year after its launch at the 1928 Olympia, London Motor Show, it was driven to victory at Le Mans in 1929 and again in 1930. Having won just about every other distance race worth winning, the Speed Six, and Bentley Motors, retired from competition when the company was bought out by Rolls-Royce in 1931.

Bentley's new GT coupé will reincarnate the muscular Bentley spirit delivered by the Speed Six and the elegant and distinctive design cues introduced with the R-Type Continental.

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Dirk van Braeckel, Bentley Motors' Director of Design explains: "We like to think we have created an automotive sculpture, bearing all the coach-building cues typical of the cars we make at Crewe, with interiors that display all the handcrafted excellence in hide, wood veneers and metal that is unique to Bentley".

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