Wrightington, Lancashire, UK. 1st March, 2014. 1989 Red Bentley Continental R, antique, vehicle, luxury, transportation, transport, style, design at the Inaugural Car Club Meet in Wrightington.
The Bentley Continental R is a large, ultra exclusive, luxury coupé made by Bentley from 1991 to 2003. It was the first Bentley to feature a body not shared with a Rolls-Royce model since the S3 of 1965, the first to use the GM 4L80-E transmission, and the fastest, most expensive, and most powerful Bentley of its day. It was also the most expensive production car in the world at launch. A convertible derivative, the Bentley Azure, was launched in 1995. The concept which later became the Continental R was displayed at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show in Rolls-Royce's "Project 90" concept car, a mock-up of a future Bentley coupé. An enthusiastic reception led the company to develop the vehicle for production as the Continental R. Based on the Bentley Turbo R platform, an aerodynamically shaped coupé body had been styled. The Continental R was launched at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show and was greeted by the crowd with spontaneous applause. Sultan of Brunei purchased the show car on-site. The "Continental" designation recalls the Bentley Continental of the post-war period. The "R" was meant to recall the R Type Bentleys from the 1950s as well as the Turbo R of the 1980s and 90's where the "R" refers to "roadholding". The car's exterior was styled by John Heffernan and Ken Greenley who had run the Automotive Design School at the Royal College of Art and who headed up their own consultancy, International Automotive Design, based in Worthing, Southern England. Greenley and Heffernan liaised constantly throughout the process with Graham Hull, chief stylist at Rolls Royce and Bentley who gave very significant input. The interior was entirely Graham Hull's work. The shape of the car was very different from the somewhat slab sided four door SZ Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicles of the time. While its coefficient of drag was not impressive in itself, and was a large improvement over previous Bentleys.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Wrightington, Chorley, Lancashire, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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