Speed Six Continuation Series Starts Testing as Final 4½ Litre ‘Blower’ is Completed

Using a classic Works Bentley as a master model, all 12 cars in the 'Blower' continuation series have been completed, each produced by hand based on original drawings and the mechanics' notes from the period between World Wars I and II. Now, Mulliner's focus turns to an 8,000 km road test to prove the series’ engineering integrity.

December 11, 2023
Starting in 2020, a project team of Bentley Mulliner engineers, craftspeople and technicians worked closely with noted British specialists and suppliers to create the world’s first pre-war Continuation Series. The product of a development process subsuming tens of thousands of hours, these Continuation Series models are presented exactly as the originals would have been in 1930, save for minor items where changes were required to meet contemporary safety standards.
In that period, the two cars raced as friendly rivals; the Supercharged 4½ Litre ‘Blowers’ were prepared and entered by the Hon Sir ‘Tim’ Birkin’s private team, while the Speed Six was Bentley’s winning Works entry for Le Mans.
Today, the build and preparation of both cars come under one roof in the workshops of Mulliner – Bentley’s bespoke and coachbuilding division. With all customer Blowers now complete and delivered, Mulliner’s focus turns to their second continuation project, with the first two cars (Car Zero and Factory Works) undertaking months of static and dynamic testing.
The continuation projects have triggered the re-learning of lost skills within Bentley, with technicians and artisans young and old now equipped with the knowledge and experience needed to build and maintain pre-war Bentleys.