Bentley introduces special Le Mans Collection

PHOTO: Distinguishing the Le Mans Collection are unique exterior and interior details echoing the design of the Le Mans-winning Speed 8 #7.

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Limited-edition Continental GT Coupe and Continental GTC celebrates Bentley’s shared history with the legendary endurance race.

Bentley Motors introduces a limited-edition Continental GT Coupe and Continental GTC to celebrate the 20 years since the marque’s sixth victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the 100 years since it first competed at the legendary endurance race These commemorative Grand Tourers, belonging in what is called the Le Mans Collection, are powered by Bentley’s iconic 6.0-liter W12 engine. 

Distinguishing the cars are unique exterior and interior details echoing the design of the Le Mans-winning Speed 8 #7. 

In the Le Mans Collection models’ cabin, the standard central dial in the three-way Bentley Rotating Display features a vitrine showcasing an engine valve from Bentley’s 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 of the 2003 Le Mans winning Bentley Speed 8. The engine was removed after the race and was preserved, and now 24 of the 32 valves coming from it have been bisected to create 48 artifacts. Another thoughtful touch is the 24-hour digital clock with a bespoke design that replaces the standard 12-hour analog clock.

Other distinctive interior touches are Dynamica fabric seat accents, seat stitching and seatbelts in Hotspur color, steering wheel trimmed in leather and Dynamica, Piano Black and high-gloss carbon fiber veneer, Speed 8 sill plates, and emblems of six wreaths, marking the six outright victories recorded by Bentley at Le Mans between 1924 and 2003.

The Le Mans Collection models are finished in Verdant green, with a Moonbeam racing stripe across the hood and on the Coupe’s roof. The Blackline specification nods to the black and green livery of the Speed 8, while the carbon fiber Styling specification body components are finished in black with a subtle pinstripe in Moonbeam. Beluga black is also chosen for the lower front bumper, mirror caps and rear “horseshoe” area beneath the trunk spoiler. Carbon ceramic brakes with red calipers grab black, 22-inch, 10-spoke wheels. The distinctive Bentley matrix grille, originally developed to protect the radiator on the unpaved Le Mans racetrack of the 1920s, features a painted #7 in Arctica white.

Through Bentley’s personal commissioning division, Mulliner, the Le Mans Collection pays a heartfelt tribute to a long and glorious shared history between Bentley and the Le Mans 24 Hours.