You'll be able to see the company's entire history laid out before you.
The Goodwood Festival of Speed isn't until June this year. But before then we have the Goodwood Members' Meeting. Designed to recreate the original BARC Members' Meetings held at Goodwood in the 1950s and '60s, Bentley has announced that ten iconic models spanning 90 years, including six new additions to Bentley's Heritage Collection, will be on display at this weekend's event.
The oldest of the cars, the 1929 Speed Six, is perhaps the coolest of the bunch. The Speed Six won Le Mans two years in a row (1929 and 1930) and has a custom body fitted over the Bentley's guts by Victor Broom.
Bentley is also bringing the first production car ever built at the Crewe factory, which now makes cars like the Bentley Bentayga. The 1949 Mark VI was at one point the best-selling Bentley, with 5,000 cars built from 1946 to 1952. Then there's the gorgeous 1963 S3 Standard Saloon, a perfect example of the famous Bentley grille.
One of the more interesting models is the 1984 Continental. Not only is it cool to see what a legendary name looked like 38 years ago, but this one was also used by Bentley's chairman during some of the company's toughest years. Back then, sales were at the lowest point in the company's history. By 1991, the company had rebounded, due largely to the Mulsanne Turbo. That led to the legendary 355-hp Bentley Turbo R, arguably the grandfather of Bentley's current Speed models.
The final car being brought to the Goodwood event is a 2001 Arnage Red Label. It was one of the first cars produced after the company's acquisition by the Volkswagen Group in 1998. It also marked the return of the now-famous Bentley 6 3/4 litre (not liter, because that isn't British enough) V8. Each of the cars brought to the Goodwood event shows a turning point in the company's history, from its highs to its lows. And if it's any indication of what the brand will bring to the Festival of Speed, well, mark us down as excited.
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