One-off Bentley Continental GT S 20th Anniversary Special Unveiled

Bentley's display booth during last week's Auto Shanghai 2023 show.

The mighty luxury grand tourer that is the Bentley Continental GT celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. In light of which, Bentley has fashioned a one-off special to mark the occasion, which bowed during last week’s Auto Shanghai 2023 show.

The special celebrates the ‘Flying-B’ marque’s most significant model to date. Prior to the first generation Continental GT’s debut in 2003, the ailing British automaker barely moved 1,000 cars annually, and it was on the brink of extinction despite being under the ownership of German giant Volkswagen since 1998.

The Continental GT’s arrival somewhat saved Bentley from demise and put the marque back on the map, with said model standing as a firm favourite amongst the world’s high nett worth individuals (HNWIs) who seek a plush, fast and stylish grand tourer.

One-off 20th Anniversary model is based on the V8-powered Continental GT S.

Magnetic dark grey metallic hue gets offset with red-finished accents and brake calipers.

The one-off unveiled in Shanghai celebrates this model and, even at a glance, things look pretty special indeed. Firstly, this one-off’s exterior is finished in Magnetic dark grey metallic, and it’s matched with black chrome 22-inch 10-spoke wheels with red-finished calipers hiding behind them.

A similar black-and-red motif is replicated on board in the cabin through the Beluga and Hotspur leather upholstery over piano black accents. Here, this one-off also boasts laser-etched overlay marking this Continental GT’s status as an anniversary one-off.

Note the red pin-stripe that runs across the entire dash from door-to-door.

Commemorative touches include laser-etched overlays plus special right-side treadplate.

Arguably the most recognizable touch is the red pin-stripe that visually separates the dashboard, running across which from door to door. Notable too is the right side treadplate which shows a first-gen Continental GT and a third-generation model, thus denoting 20 years of the grand tourer from the United Kingdom.

As the name suggests, this one-off underpins the V8-powered Continental GT S instead of the full-cream W12 Continental GT Speed. Packing a 4.0-litre displacement plus twin-turbochargers, the former offers 542 HP and 770 NM, which enables 0-100 KM/H in 3.9 seconds and a V-Max of 318 KM/H.

Another one-off based on the W12-powered Continental GT Speed pictured will bow later this year.

Additionally, this one-off Continental GT S is just a small start of the model’s 20th anniversary celebrations planned by for this year. Other activities include special drive events held at Bentley’s headquarters in both Crewe, England, and Geneva, Switzerland.

After which, another 2th anniversary special based on the W12-powered Continental GT Speed is set to debut in July this year during this year’s edition of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.