This year, Bentley marks its 100th anniversary. Renowned for its luxury vehicles and uncompromising performance, Bentley decided the proper way to celebrate is with a special edition vehicle.
The car is a limited edition Bentley Continental GT Number 9 by Mulliner and is displayed at the 2019 Geneva Auto Show. It pays tribute to the No. 9 Blower – a special car in Bentley history.
In 1928, Sir Tim Birkin – a racing enthusiast and former military pilot – was looking to add even more power to the already powerful Bentley 4½ Liter. He worked with British engineer – Amherst Villiers – to develop a supercharger for the engine. They boosted the power by more than 34% – from 130 bhp to 175 bhp. Thus, the Bentley Blower was born, despite heavy opposition by W.O. Bentley – the company’s founder and chief engineer.
The car proved good and entered the 1930 Le Mans race with Birkin at the wheel. He demonstrated superior performance and famously defeated Bentley’s main competitor – the SSK Mercedes. Ultimately, both cars suffered failures, leaving the victory to one of the standard Bentleys enlisted in the race.
The special edition Bentley Continental GT No.9 by Mulliner is a tribute to that unresolved quest for performance.
It comes in two new colors – Veridian green and Beluga black. The number 9 is painted on the grill. An 18-carat gold-plated No.9 badge is also located on the side.
The interior is custom made by Mulliner with a number of unique features:
- A set of British Jaeger gauges
- A wooden chip of the original racing seat of Sir Tim Birkin’s Blower, integrated into a display on the dashboard
- A special finish aluminum panel on the central console
- Gorgeous leather interior with the B embossed into the headrests and door panels.
Underneath the heritage design sits a modern 6.0-liter, twin-turbocharged W12 engine, producing 626 bhp and 664 lb/ft of torque. Coupled to an 8-speed, dual-clutch transmission, the engine achieves 0-60mph acceleration in 3.6 seconds with a top speed of 207 mph.
Bentley will produce just 100 units of the No.9 special edition. We don’t how much will they cost, but knowing Bentley, it’s going to be a lot.
