Bentley to recreate twelve pre-war Le Mans racers

The oldest coachbuilder in the world, Bentley Mulliner, is set to recreate twelve new 1929 and 1930 Bentley Speed Six racers in its Continuation Series.

The Speed Six continuations were announced at the Goodwood Festival of Speed over the weekend, with all twelve cars selling out immediately at a price tag of $NZ2.9m.

Each car will be mechanically and aesthetically authentic to the original Bentley Speed Sixes that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1929 and 1930. They were powered by a 6.5L straight-six engine.

This isn’t the first time Bentley Mulliner has brought a pre-war car back from the past. In 2021, twelve 4.5L Blowers were created as a part of the Blower Continuation Series.

A 3D CAD model of the car derived from blueprints, and analysis of the original cars will be used to build each one from the ground up. Recreation parts will be used that are identical to their originals and made using the same pre-war techniques.

Adrian Hallmark, Bentley Chairman and CEO said, “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 honour the Speed Six is a fantastic next step.”

The first new Speed Six in 92 years will be assembled in the second half of this year, and will become the engineering test and development car for the project.