There have been a lot of substantial waiting periods in automotive history: Jeep made the final run of SJ Grand Wagoneers in 1991 and didn’t bring a new version of the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer to market until the 2022 model year; and people wanting an all-new Nissan Frontier had to wait nearly two decades for the third-generation model. Those are short stints compared to the gap between when Bentley produced its last Speed Six and the latest one as part of its 12-car Speed Six Continuation Series: 94 years.
Introduced in 1928 as a sportier version of the Bentley 6½ Litre, the Speed Six’s 6.5-liter I6 was equipped with a pair of SU carburetors, a higher compression ratio, and a high-performance camshaft. Production ended in 1930, after 182 units left Bentley’s Cricklewood factory – and the Speed Six won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice.
According to Bentley, the template for the Speed Six Continuation Series is based on “the company’s own Speed Six, GU409, and ‘Old Number 3’, a works Speed Six driven in the 1930 Le Mans 24 Hour race by Sammy Davis and Clive Dunfee.”
Work on the first customer car started in February of this year. To make it period-correct, the automaker drew upon its own history and expertise as well as the engineering and restoration know-how of British specialty companies. For instance, the W.O. Bentley Memorial Foundation contributed 80 percent of the original drawings and notes used by the production team. A coachbuilder crafted the ash frame by hand. An outside firm created more than 20 tons of tooling to press the five-millimeter-thick S355J2 steel used in the chassis legs and crossmembers.
US-based customer John Breslow commissioned this Speed Six more than a year ago, ordering it with Parsons Napier Green paint and reddish-brown Rust leather and carpeting. During the eight-month build process, the Mulliner Classic team went to England’s National Motor Museum to verify the five authentic Parsons Paints of the period that are available to customers.
The 6.5-liter race-spec I6 required the production of more than 600 new individual parts, including the engine block casting. On the dyno, the engine produced 205 bhp. That may not sound like a lot, but Bentley is OK with that. As the company puts it, “The aim of the Continuation Series team was to create a Bentley exactly as it would have looked and performed in 1930.”
If Breslow wants another new Speed Six, even he will have to wait, perhaps indefinitely. The other 11 specimens haven’t been completed yet, but they’re already sold.
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