There are a bunch of prestige dealerships on Swan St and during my last visit, I came across a new Bentley dealer that had just moved in. I had barely entered the building when I was greeted by this fantastic Bentley Continental. This particular model commemorates the brand’s 2003 Le Mans 24 Hour victory, taken by the number 7 Speed 8 Prototype racer wearing the same classy colours.
Bentley released the Continental in 2003 and the basic design hasn’t changed a whole lot. However in 2018 it underwent a full chassis change with updated styling but it was still easily recognisable as a Continental. The big grill and 4 headlight design has massive presence because the car is BIG for a 2 door coupe. It really makes a statement, especially when it’s painted in such a dazzling colour.
Now you might look at this front end and think, why is there a 7 painted on the grill? Well aside from being the number of the 2003 Le Mans winner, it’s a throwback to the Bentleys of old from the late 1920s and 30s which had their race numbers painted on to their massive grills. It was actually quite common in the early days of Grand Prix racing.
On closer inspection, the headlights have a very complex design that would not have been cheap to produce. It’s these details that help you understand just where the money is spent to produce this car. They almost look like crystals with all their reflective elements.
With a W12 engine up the front, a 2.2 tonne curb weight, 4 wheel drive and 650 HP, you need massive brakes to slow down. As you can see, the red brake caliper behind the already huge gloss black wheel is very large, with the disk only just fitting in behind the rim. This Bentley may be luxurious on the inside, but it’s by no means a slouch.
To be honest I’m not a big fan of black wheels and would’ve painted them silver if I had the choice, but I can forgive it because the Speed 8 race car had black wheels. It also had a silver stripe, just like the one you see on the bonnet. A similar livery was put onto the GT3 race car and I honestly believe it’s the best the car ever had.
Only 48 of these special editions were built in total and 2 of them were sent here, which makes this one of the rarest cars in Australia. As an enthusiast who wants to capture Melbourne’s glorious car culture, this is the sort of thing I live for. It may not get the same attention as other cars, but that doesn’t make it undeserving by any means. This is this British luxury at it’s finest and everything I love about Bentley.
DevMacCars 