Bentley Continental R Final Series
Luxury and sportiness do not always go together. At Bentley, however, we know that these terms are not mutually exclusive. Since the brand was founded in 1919, luxurious saloons, coupés, convertibles and now also SUVs have been produced, first in the London district of Cricklewood, then in Derby and since 1946 in Crewe. Bentley belonged to Rolls-Royce between 1931 and 1998. During this period, the model series of both companies were usually only distinguished from each other by the radiator grille. Exceptions included the R-Type Continental from 1952 and the new Continental series from 1991. When these coupés were presented, it was not yet foreseeable that they, together with the Arnage saloon, would mark the end of the Rolls-Royce era. In 1998, the Volkswagen Group bought both brands, but not completely. Unbeknown to the Wolfsburg-based company, the Rolls-Royce brand and name rights were not held by Vickers (the seller of the car brands) but by the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc.
Only 11 cars ever produced
By the time the decision-makers at Volkswagen realised this, BMW had already secured the rights. Together they worked out a plan to separate the two brands again. There was to be a transitional period for this until the end of 2002 so that new models could be developed in the meantime and – in the case of BMW – a new plant could be built in Goodwood. A total of 1,548 examples of the Continental R had been built by then. These included 158 vehicles with Mulliner Specification, 44 from the Le Mans Series and eleven from the Final Series.
In contrast to the normal Continental R, these cars received a V8 turbo engine with a power increase of 101 to 426 hp (313 kW). The maximum torque increased from 750 to 875 Newton metres. As with all Continental models in this series, power was transmitted via a four-speed automatic gearbox from GM. After 5.8 seconds, the approximately 2.4-tonne body reached 100 km/h, with a maximum speed of 280 km/h.
One of the last vehicles from the partnership with Rolls-Royce.
In fact, the Continental R in the Final Series was not only one of the last vehicles from the partnership with Rolls-Royce. The coupé body also featured the SZ platform. This came from the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, which had already been replaced by the Silver Seraph in 1998. At Bentley, the identical saloon was called the Arnage. It had replaced the Eight, Mulsanne, Mulsanne S, Mulsanne Turbo, Turbo R, Turbo RT, Turbo S and Brooklands models. One of the eleven examples of the Continental R Final Series is part of Bentley Motors’ Heritage Fleet. The silver, right-hand drive car with the licence plate C1 BML is allowed on the road for special occasions. As a modern classic, this luxury coupé is now already 20 years old. Good examples mature into collector’s vehicles.
Photos: Bentley
