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Bentley Continental has come a long way in 63 years

Ever wonder why Bentley calls its coupe the Continental? We'll give you a hint: it's not because it comes with orange juice and a breakfast roll. It's because the coupe was designed to traverse entire continents in speed and comfort. And it has been doing that for 63 years now. The fastest four-passenger vehicle of its day, the original Bentley R-Type Continental is considered to be the world's first grand tourer. The Continental was based on the R-Type saloon, retaining its 4.6-liter inline-six but replacing the four-door bodywork with an altogether more elegant, dynamic form. The two-door bodywork was crafted by H.J. Mulliner & Co, whose name still adorns Bentley's customization department, and whom parent Rolls-Royce favored over its usual Park Ward for its pioneering skills in lightweight construction. The result was a vehicle that could sweep along the highways constructed in post-war Europe with ease and grace at speeds up to 120 miles per hour. Of the 2,000+ R-Types that Bentley made in the early 1950s, only 208 were Continentals, making it one of the most sought-after Bentleys of all time – and one of the most beautiful. It's that spirit which the company aims to carry forth with its namesake, the latest Continental GT Speed, which stands as the fastest production model Bentley has ever offered. Of course it's not just on the road where Bentley forged its reputation, but on the racetrack as well. That history stretches back to the famous Birkin Blower that won at Le Mans in 1930 straight through to the Continental GT3 that scored podium finishes at Paul Ricard and the Nurburgring this year. Watch the video above and scroll through the galleries below to see Bentleys old and new come together and demonstrate the heritage that they're always crowing about in Crewe. BENTLEY CONTINENTAL: EVOLUTION OF AN ICON - New film features 16MY Continental GT Speed and R-Type Continental - Traces the DNA and design of the Continental from 1952 to present - 16MY GT Speed is the fastest production car ever made by Bentley (Crewe, 16 December 2015) The Bentley Continental GT is one of the most iconic cars on the road today. The Continental name first entered the company's lexicon in 1952 with the R-Type Continental – arguably the world's first Grand Tourer. With a top speed of 120 mph it was the fastest four-seater in the world at the time of its launch.

Watch a Bentley Continental GT Speed hit 206 mph in Australia

The top speed listed on most cars is usually a rather theoretical affair. After all, where can you actually drive a car to its v-max, anyway? Well there are a few highways in the world – and really only a few – that will let you drive as fast as you can. One of them is in the Australian outback, so that's where Bentley took its new Continental GT Speed. The road in question is called the Stuart Highway. It's a 1,761-mile road which runs across the continent from Darwin in the north to Port Augusta in the south. That's about the same distance as driving from New York to Denver. Only unlike any of the highways you'd take to drive across America, the Stuart Highway has one long stretch of 120 miles between Alice Springs and Barrow Creek that is completely derestricted, and has been for the past two years since local authorities set about trying out removing the speed limit. To see how fast the new GT Speed could actually go in the real world, Bentley put Aussie touring car champion John Bowe behind the wheel and let 'er rip. The result is a top speed clocked at 206 miles per hour. That's pretty darn fast for any car, let alone one that weighs a massive 5,000 pounds. Its 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 engine contributes significantly to that curb weight, but with 626 horsepower and 607 pound-feet of torque on tap, it also has the muscle to keep the Conti pulling like a freight train all the way up past the double-century mark. Watch it unfold in the video above. BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT SPEED: VMAX IN THE OUTBACK - Continental GT Speed hits 206 mph (331 km/h) top speed on Stuart Highway, Australia - Northern Territory route one of only three derestricted roads in the world - Australian racing legend, John Bowe, takes Grand Tourer on extraordinary high-speed run - Continental GT Speed combines supercar performance with supreme luxury (Crewe, 04 November 2015) The 16MY Bentley Continental GT Speed has been taken to its top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h)* by Australian racing legend, John Bowe, on the derestricted Stuart Highway** deep in the Northern territory. The 635 PS (626 bhp), 820 Nm (607 lb.ft) W12-powered GT Speed Grand Tourer reached Vmax in just 76 seconds, covering a distance of 9.4 kilometres in the process. At top speed, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo Grand Tourer was covering a staggering 92 metres (or one football pitch) per second. John Bowe said: "This isn't a modified racecar; it's a luxurious grand touring road car fresh off the production line.

Bentley Mulsanne Grand Convertible due in 2017, Speed 6 still in play

Automobile outlines the near-term future of the Bentley line-up, finding a few items of gold and perhaps one that brand purists will consider a goldbrick. Dealers are taking orders for the the Bentley Grand Convertible, a ragtop Mulsanne introduced at the LA Auto Show last year, and it is expected to reveal its production form sometime late next year on its way to showroom floors by early 2017. Brand CEO Wolfgang Durheimer said "Mulsanne will get further derivatives," plural. Perhaps that means that with a convertible on its way to reality, a coupe something like a modern Brooklands will follow. A long-wheelbase Mulsanne is in the works, too. The Grand Convertible will wear the Mulsanne's new face, scheduled for reveal at next year's Geneva Motor Show. Automobile says the front will be "squarer" and the grille "more upright," which we didn't think was possible, and boast "three brick-shaped air intakes," apparently to emphasize the upright squareness. Plus, new headlights. The third-generation Continental and Flying Spur ranges would come after that, laid atop the MSB platform and rolling out of Crewe over a two-year period starting in 2017. They should still be powered by 4.0-liter V8 and 6.0-liter W12 engines, but the bodywork around those motors will be "both evolutionary and daring." This, then, should be the leap that Bentley wanted to make with the second-generation Continental but couldn't. Whither the EXP 10 Speed 6? Durheimer said the customer response has been, "Don't ask us questions, just do it." The last news we had over the summer was that Bentley was deciding whether to expand the line-up next with a small SUV or the Speed 6. It's not clear which will come first, but Durheimer said, "I'm confident that with EXP10 Speed 6 we will find a good solution," and the business case for it goes to the board a year from now. Automobile suggests it will go on sale in 2020 with a 600-horsepower, twin-turbo V8. That smaller SUV is still on the table, though, an entry-level offering that would use the re-engineered bones of the Audi Q5. Featured Gallery Bentley Grand Convertible: LA 2014 View 16 Photos News Source: AutomobileImage Credit: Live images copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Bentley Convertible Coupe Crossover Future Vehicles Luxury Performance bentley mulsanne bentley flying spur bentley exp 10 speed 6 bentley grand convertible