1999 Bentley Continental

Since the first Bentley motor car, produced in 1921, the company has focused on performance, luxury, and prestige. The 'Continental' name had been used by the company since the 1950s, and the 'R' recalled the R-Type Bentley from the 1950s and the Turbo R of the 1980s.

Bentley officially debuted the Continental at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show. It incorporated many design elements from the Rolls-Royce Project 90 Concept, which had been shown seven years earlier at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show. Additional styling assistance came from the consultancy firm International Automotive Design, which used computer-aided design and wind tunnel testing to great effect in creating the streamlined shape of the car. This was the first Bentley in four decades that did not share its body shell with a similar Rolls-Royce model. A four-speed automatic gearbox was mated to an engine from its predecessor, the Turbo R, and carried the car to 60 mph in under 6 seconds, with a top speed in excess of 150 mph.

The Sultan of Brunei reportedly purchased the Continental show car at the exhibition.

During the production lifespan, many variants of the Continental were produced, including the Continental Sedanca Coupe (or SC as it was more commonly known - a nod to Bentley's past when the Sedanca style of two-door, rear seat passenger-focused bodywork was in fashion). The Continental SC was introduced at the 1998 Paris Show and featured a Targa-style removable roof, the glass panels being stored in the boot. Total production reached 72 (some sources state 79) examples.

The 1999 Bentley Continental lineup included the Continental R, Continental T, and Continental SC. All three were powered by an overhead-valve eight-cylinder engine with a 412 cubic-inch displacement with U.S.-destined versions fitted with an MK Motronic fuel injection system. The Continental T had been launched in 1996 and was a development of the Continental R. It had a shorter, sportier wheelbase and an increase in horsepower from 400 to 420, and 650 ft-lbs of torque, the most of any road car at the time and higher than any Formula 1 car that competed in the 1997 Grand-Prix at the time of introduction. A total of 322 examples were built from 1996 to 2002.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2019