Bentleys old and new grace Monterey Car Week

Bentley’s annual showcase at Monterey Car Week continued this year, with a trio of firsts that showcased the breadth of the marque’s automotive diversity.

The new, fourth-generation Continental GT Speed made its US debut at the event, with a personalised example from Bentley’s bespoke and coachbuilding division, Mulliner, spearheading a fleet of more than 30 pre-production examples at the event.

Journalists and customers were able to sample the new GT Speed on the road for the first time anywhere globally, ahead of demonstrators being made available across Bentley’s worldwide retailer network.

The Continental GT Speed was not the only Bentley Grand Tourer making a debut at Monterey Car Week.

Following a two-year, bare-metal restoration, Bentley’s own 1961 S2 Drophead Coupe – one of just 15 examples created by Mulliner in the 1960s – became the first Bentley ever entered into the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance by the marque itself.

Monterey Car Week was the first time the car, registration UFF 366, has been presented by Bentley after a painstaking rebuild as part of the three-year rejuvenation of Bentley’s Heritage Collection.

The S2 Drophead Coupe is a forebear of the new Continental GT Speed Convertible that also appeared in the US for the first time, in two distinct ways.

The new Continental GT Speed family utilises Bentley’s new Ultra Performance Hybrid powertrain – created around an all-new V8 engine paired to an electric motor – becoming the next member of a Bentley V8 bloodline that started with the S2, which introduced a 6.23-litre V8 to replace the straight-six engine of the S1.

Meanwhile, the new GT Speed returns Bentley’s design DNA to a clean pair of large headlamps, replacing the previous use of four smaller units that have defined the face of the Continental family – and indeed every mainstream Bentley - since 1963.

The S2 was the last Bentley to use this elegant design.