Bentley Continental GT Olympia Collection limited to 12 cars

Mulliner has created the Olympia Collection, a run of 12 individually numbered Continental GT models that marks a century since Bentley unveiled the production 6 ½ Litre at the 1926 Olympia Motor Show. The six-cylinder car was the second model line from the Crewe marque and was offered alongside the 3 Litre.

The 6 ½ Litre and the Lyon to Dieppe race

The 3 Litre arrived in 1921, but demand soon grew for a larger chassis and a more powerful engine suited to the heavier coachwork of a luxury saloon. The new chassis and engine were previewed in 1925, with the finished car shown at Olympia 12 months later. In its later Speed Six form, it won Le Mans in 1929 and 1930.

A key moment came in 1924, when W.O. Bentley and three colleagues were testing a disguised six-cylinder prototype between Lyon and Dieppe. At a Y junction they met a prototype from Bentley’s closest competitor, and the two raced side by side at over 80 mph along a tree-lined Route Nationale. The Bentley won, but W.O. was unhappy with the margin and enlarged the engine from 4.5 litres to 6.5 litres, as he later wrote, “to stay two steps ahead”.

Ombré paint and Champagne Gold exterior

Because 1920s British Racing Green came in many shades and has no standardised RAL match, the Mulliner Bespoke Studio chose its Ombré by Mulliner finish, which takes 56 hours to apply. It grades from Verdant to Midnight Emerald. Champagne Gold badges and a lower pinstripe recall the nickel silver radiator shells of early models, while Blackline specification covers the brightwork. Black 22-inch Mulliner wheels carry Champagne Gold accents, and opening a door projects an animation of the Lyon to Dieppe drive onto the ground.

Continental GT Olympia Collection interior

Inside, a Coach Green main hide with a heritage patina is paired with Cumbrian Green, black stained open pore crown cut walnut veneer and diamond-knurled controls. The Bentley Rotating Display carries an individual number and dials inspired by the 6 ½ Litre speedometer.

Champagne Gold appears on the seat piping, gear lever and organ stops, and its box stitching on the steering wheel evokes 1920s rope-bound wheels. Ski hatch embroidery maps the Lyon to Dieppe route, and black treadplates carry the collection motif.

Brooklands watch and collectables

Each of the 12 cars comes with green car covers, a commemorative handover box, a book telling the collection’s story and a handcrafted Brooklands Watch Co. chronograph. The watch is numbered to match its car, has a Coach Green hide strap and offers two interchangeable tachymeter bezels referencing the Outer Circuit and Double Twelve Circuit at Brooklands.

Supplied by Newspress UK (Bentley)

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