2010 Bentley Continental GT Speed Series 51

The Bentley Continental GT was the first car released by Volkswagen AG after their acquisition of the company in 1998 and was unveiled at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, followed by Le Mans, the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the annual Bentley Drivers Club meeting at Silverstone. It was an instant success, ushering in a new era for the famed luxury Marque. Some four years later the Continental GT 'Speed' was unveiled at Laguna Village Polo in 2007, followed by the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. This additional model took the Continental’s peerless craftsmanship, exquisite style and substantial power output and pushed it to an entirely new level.

The W12 engine, revered for its refinement and smoothness, now generated 602bhp and 553lb⋅ft of torque fed through the uprated 6-speed ZF automatic transmission distributed to all four wheels via a Torsen all-wheel-drive system that ensures superb grip and traction. The Speed's dynamics benefitted from a lowered ride height, uprated spring/damper settings, beefier anti-roll bars, a solid-mounted front subframe, and stiffer rear bushings. Externally the only clues were the front grille and lower air intakes in dark-tinted chrome matrix, wider rifled sports exhaust tail pipes, and a set of bespoke 9.5J x 20-inch wheels.

Going back to the immediate post-war years, the demise of so many traditional British coachbuilders whose customers were unable or unwilling to fund very expensive bespoke automobiles, meant that Bentley were increasingly reliant on designing and building their own bodywork and interiors. As a somewhat traditional company, the designs from their drawing office tended to be equally traditional, 'safe' designs in a difficult period when those customers who remained well-funded, presumably felt that flamboyant limousines were not appropriate when half the country was struggling with food rationing. However the Board of Directors realised that these times wouldn't last forever and having recently poached John Blatchley from Gurney Nutting, promoted him to Chief Designer with his own Design Department in 1951. The first evidence of his exceptional skill appeared as the R-Type Continental of 1951 arguably his finest expression of post-war aerodynamic form.

The 'Series 51' edition was named after the founding of Bentley’s design studio in 1951 and was created to offer exclusive colourr and trim combinations, enhancing the vehicle’s bespoke appeal. Bentley's Colour and Trim team designed specially tailored three-tone interiors, and Bentley's designers selected a range of premium-quality materials for the dashboard and centre console to complement the interiors. The Dark and Bright 'Engine Spin' aluminium options provide a striking contrast with darker and lighter hide colour choices and a special, limited-edition Amboyna veneer was reserved solely for the Series 51.

This fabulous example is finished in gleaming Onyx Black over a Beluga Black and Cream leather-trimmed interior, featuring diamond-quilted inserts on the seats and door cards, embroidered Bentley emblems on the seat backs, red piping, and gloss-black trim inlays and sits on a correct set of 20-inch ‘Diamond’ twin multi-spoke alloy wheels. It's very well specified from new and further details of the equipment levels and its full Bentley Service History to follow. It was purchased by our vendor in March 2019 and the MOT history indicates decreasing use (less than 1,000 miles last year) as apparently his wife doesn't like it !

Series 51 Continental GTs are rare cars with, we understand, less than 50 being finished in a variety of colour/trim combinations so it's unlikely that you will be parked next to another one. This is a seriously quick, twin-turbocharged, 12-cylinder, 600+bhp GT with taut handling and amazing traction, offering 'supercar' performance whilst sitting in luxury surrounded by peerless craftsmanship and exquisite style. Continental GTs offer remarkable value for money in today's market and the Speed Series 51, very expensive when new, particularly so.

The registration number visible in some of our images does not form part of the sale and the car is now registered YJ10 FAO.