This recreation process started with a 3D scan of Old Number 3, the third of three Bentley Speed Sixes to contest the 1930 edition of the Le Mans 24-hour enduro – not only did it finish, it is still road legal and raced today.
A second reference car, the 1929 Speed Six road car that’s part of the marque’s own heritage fleet, is being used to benchmark the performance and handling of the 12 continuation models.
Many of the components made for these cars won’t just look the same as those on the originals, they’ll be fabricated using the same methods employed a century ago.
The Bentley Speed Six Continuation Series cars will be able to hit 125mph
Each of Bentley’s Speed Six Continuation models will be powered by a 200bhp, 6½-litre straight-six, giving the car a 125mph top speed – and the new owners will be able to race them around the world.
The original Speed Six cars became the marque’s most successful racers. Woolf Barnato and Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin drove one to victory at Le Mans in 1929, leading from start to finish and beating the previous lap record by 46 secs. An average speed of 83mph was achieved – not bad for 93 years ago.