This New Bentley Continental GT Azure is A One-Off Model Inspired by 1953 R-Type

Bentley Motors has debuted a unique one-off Continental GT Azure, inspired by the marque’s 1950s icon, the R-Type Continental. This special Conti GT is built to pay an homage to one of the 208 original examples of the R-Type Continental, dubbed as the JAS 949 – a name derived from its licence plate.

The JAS 949 R-Type Continental was originally owned by Dr. Rowland Guenin of Switzerland back in Dec 1953. The Swiss man commissioned Bentley to drape his R-Type in an ivory exterior, as well as a red cabin. With its original owners long gone, Bentley acquired the JAS 949 back in 2001, where it has been restored and kept in the marque’s historic collection ever since.

In celebrating the JAS 949’s 70th anniversary, the Continental GT Azure is draped in Old English White hue that closely matches the ivory shade on the 1953 R-Type. As per old school Bentleys, the GT Azure is donned with few chrome trims on few exterior parts such as the front grille and side skirts. To match the chrome finish, the car rides on a set of 22-inch wheels with a black and polished metal finish.

Inside the Continental GT Azure lies a wood-laden cabin, with its seats finished in Cricket Brown leather upholstery, instead of plain red leather like the original R-Type it pays an homage to. Dominating its dashboard is Burr Walnut wood veneer with an open-pore finish to give it a similar patina to the JAS 949.

Unlike the classic R-Type, the one-off GT Azure is packed with modern comfort amenities, such as the Front Seat Comfort specification which adds massage function with six programmable settings to both front seats. Keeping the passengers comfortable is the Bentley Dynamic Ride system with active anti-roll bars built-in.

This modern GT car is not lacking in the safety department, too, as comes with the Touring Specification that grants it a slew of advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) features like Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Keep Assist (LKA), traffic assist, as well as infrared cameras that can detect pedestrians, cyclists, or even animals that are outside of the headlights’ beam.

The original R-Type Continental made its debut way back in 1952. The car is primed with a 4.6-litre inline-six mill rated at 153 HP, which grants it a 0 to 100 KM/H sprint finish in about 13.6 seconds. One of the R-Type prototypes, codenamed OLG 490, or Olga, managed to reach a V-max of about 191 KM/H at the Montlhèry racetrack near Paris – essentially making it one of the fastest four-seater cars in the world at that time.

For comparison, the performance spec of the current-gen Continental GT is a far cry from the classic R-Type. Based on the Continental GT V8, the GT Azure harnesses a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 TSI engine rated at 542 HP that is capable of propelling it from nought to 100 KM/H in 4 seconds flat. Flat out, the GT Azure is capable of reaching a top speed north of 318 KM/H.

This special one-off Bentley Continental GT Azure is not for sale, as it will be part of Bentley’s UK press fleet. Unless you are working for Bentley or any UK-based media outlet, the chances of you getting to drive this special GT is probably close to zero.