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april 06, 2022 - Bentley

Goodwood Members Meeting debut for expanded Bentley Heritage Collection

  • Official #automotive Partner of the Goodwood Members Meeting 
  • Four new #heritage Collection cars join six others for display and drives
  • New arrivals span a 62-year portion of the company’s history
  • Heritage Collection expanding from nine useable cars to 35
  • All 35 cars to be running, reliable and road legal – defining the ultimate #Bentley Toy Box

(Crewe, 5 April 2022) Bentley Motors is proud to confirm that it will be an Official #automotive Partner for the #79thgoodwoodmembersmeeting, 9th-10th April 2022. The Goodwood Members’ Meeting is an epic weekend of motor racing which aims to recreate the atmosphere and camaraderie of the original BARC Members’ Meetings held at Goodwood throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

Bentley will support the #Event with a display of 10 iconic Bentleys spanning 90 years of #Bentley history from 1929 through to 2019. As Bentley’s carbon neutral factory and campus expands, so has the company’s famous #heritage Collection, with the ten cars for Goodwood including four of six new additions to the fleet, now totalling 35 cars.

The six new additions span 72 years of history, and include:

  • 1929 Speed Six, completing Bentley’s pre-war collection
  • 1949 Mark VI, an example of the first #Bentley built in Crewe
  • 1963 S3 Standard Saloon, the most exquisite four-door of the period
  • 1984 Continental, a drophead formerly used by the chairman
  • 1991 Turbo R, that started the rebirth of #Bentley as a sporting brand
  • 2001 Arnage Red Label, the return of the 6¾ V8 to #Bentley sedans

The #Bentley Speed Six is one of the marque’s most iconic pre-war vehicles. A high-performance version of the 6½ Litre, the Speed Six became the most successful racing #Bentley, winning Le Mans in 1929 and 1930 at the hands of Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin and Glen Kidston. Bentley’s own example, GU 409, was originally built for a W.F. Watson and fitted with a Weymann saloon body by Victor Broom, and was delivered in September 1929.

The first new production model from Crewe after the war was unveiled in May 1946 and named the Mark VI. Using independent front suspension and the existing 4½-litre straight six engine, the Mark VI quickly became the highest selling #Bentley with 5,000 cars produced between 1946 and 1952. 73 years later the Mark VI - AGO 2 - returns back to Crewe. Fitted with an H.J. Mulliner body resplendent in two-tone green over black, AGO 2 is a key design link between the famous Embiricos #Bentley and Mk V Corniche of the 1930s, and the iconic R-Type Continental of 1952.

In 1955, the R-Type was superseded by the S-Type; Essentially an updated and improved version, with a separate chassis, straight-six engine and factory produced body. At the time, the standard factory-bodied S-Type saloon cost £3,295 (equivalent of 10 times today’s annual income). There were three iterations of the S-Type from 1955 to 1965. The 2nd generation (S2) introduced a new V8, power steering as standard and the end of a manual transmission. The final generation was very similar to the S2, with the most-visible exterior difference being a four-headlamp layout. The car joining the #heritage fleet is a 1963 S3 Standard Saloon – often regarded as the prettiest of the saloon body styles – finished in Garnet paintwork, and registered 176 FGH.

The #Bentley Continental in 1984 was heavily based on the T-Series introduced in the 1960’s. Bentley’s new example, A455 YGJ, represents one of Bentley’s most challenging times, with sales volumes at the lowest point of the company’s history. Regardless, the car is still true to Bentley’s values, and this particular example was driven by the chairman at the time as his company car. The situation improved with significant changes to how the company was run, and the adoption of forced induction to Bentley’s 6¾-litre V8 unveiled in the shape of the Turbo R at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show.

Further information in the press release to download

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