Bentley Continental GT Azure revealed

Bentley is commemorating what was once the fastest four-seat luxury car on earth with the one-off Bentley Continental GT Azure that features special paint and a bespoke interior that pay tribute to the 1953 R-Type Continental.

Celebrating 70 years of its creation, the 2023 Bentley Continental GT Azure is inspired by a member of the car-maker’s own heritage collection that went on to inspire the Bentley coupe’s modern reboot – the 2001 Bentley Continental GT.

That explains why Bentley’s bespoke division, Mulliner, painted the new car in Old English White that matches the Ivory White hue of influential ‘53’ R-Type Conti.

Inside, there’s Cricket Ball coloured leather that again replicates the original’s interior, although the modern interpretation also gets hand-stitched Beluga leather piping.

On the dash there’s open pore Burr Walnut that is claimed to match the original’s 70-year-old patina.

Under the bonnet of the Continental GT Azure the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 carries over unchanged and produces the same 404kW and 770Nm of torque – a big upgrade on the 114kW 4.6-litre inline six-cylinder that powered the R-Type Continental back in the early 1950s.

Back then Bentley claimed the glamourous Mulliner coach-built two-door could crack 190km/h – impressive but a long way off the 319km/h the current car can reach.

Instead of selling the one-off Bentley Continental GT Azure, the luxury British car-maker says the commemorative coupe will serve time on its press and demonstrator fleet in the UK as an example of what its Mulliner bespoke division can do.

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