Bentley Continental models have carried one idea for more than 70 years: a big, fast Bentley built to cross a continent at speed. However, the cars behind the name changed a great deal, from hand-shaped aluminium fastbacks to a twin-turbo W12 coupe.

Here are six of them, in order, with the production figures and specs each source actually supports. Where a number comes from a third party rather than Bentley, we say so.

1. 1952–1955 Bentley R-Type Continental

This is where the name starts. According to Classic & Sports Car, Bentley built 208 R-Type Continentals from 1952 to 1955, and that count includes a prototype delivered in August 1951. H.J. Mulliner in London built the bodies, with aluminium panels over a steel frame. In fact, the shape went through a Rolls-Royce wind tunnel at air speeds of up to 120 mph.

The magazine lists a straight-six of 4,566cc and later 4,887cc, a 120 mph top speed and a price of £7,300 after tax. Of the 208 cars, 108 stayed in the home market. Meanwhile, France took 33, North America 28 and Switzerland 24, according to Classic & Sports Car.

2. 1955–1959 Bentley S1 Continental

Next came the S1. Supercars.net says the Continental chassis became available for custom coachwork in October 1955. It also reports that 431 S1 Continentals were built through 1959. The car shared its basic layout with the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I, apart from the radiator.

Bentley gave the Continental a shorter radiator, higher gearing and an optional manual gearbox, according to Supercars.net. Power came from a 4.9-liter inline-six that, per the same source, could reach 120 mph. Most bodies came from H.J. Mulliner as fastback sports saloons. By comparison, Park Ward bodied 185 cars, a figure the site attributes to period documentation.

3. 1959–1962 Bentley S2 Continental

The S2 brought the biggest mechanical change of the 1950s. Instead of the six, it used a new 6.2-liter V8. Premier Financial Services, which reviewed a 1961 car, puts S2 Continental production at 388 cars from 1959 to 1962. About 100 of those were Mulliner coupes, and only 26 of the coupes had left-hand drive.

Park Ward built a drophead coupe version as well. That same 1961 Mulliner coupe was first sold to Count Paolo Orsi Mangelli in Italy. Later, it carried a pre-sale estimate of $400,000 to $500,000 at Pebble Beach, according to Premier Financial Services.

4. 1962–1965 Bentley S3 Continental

The S3 is easy to spot, because it gained four headlamps. Conceptcarz also notes a bonnet line 1.5 inches lower than before. Under it, the 6.2-liter V8 gained about seven percent more power, thanks mainly to a compression ratio raised from 8:1 to 9:1 and larger carburetors.

Conceptcarz counts 311 S3 Continentals in total. Of those, Mulliner Park Ward bodied 291 and James Young built 20, according to Conceptcarz.

5. 1991–2003 Bentley Continental R

Bentley launched the Continental R at Geneva in 1991. The company calls the Continental R the first Bentley with its own unique body since the R Type Continental of 1952. At launch, its turbocharged 6.75-litre V8 made 355 bhp. As a result, the coupe ran 0-62 mph in 6.6 seconds and reached 152 mph.

Later cars got a 420 bhp version of the V8. In total, Bentley built 1,548 Continental R models over 12 years. That figure includes 158 Mulliner editions, 44 Le Mans Series cars and 11 Final Series cars, according to Bentley’s heritage collection.

6. 2003 Bentley Continental GT

Finally, the Continental GT changed the company. Bentley calls it the first new Bentley of the Volkswagen AG era. It also says the car was arguably the first all-new Bentley since the original 3 Litre of 1919. Its 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 made 550 bhp and 650 Nm, with 0-62 mph in 4.8 seconds and a 198 mph top speed.

Supercars.net adds that it was the first Bentley with all-wheel drive and the first with the W12. Meanwhile, Bentley says the car took it from building fewer than 1,000 cars a year to close to ten times that. Even so, its lines held a hint of the 1952 R Type Continental, according to Bentley’s own heritage file.

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This article was created with the help of AI and was reviewed and edited by Fast Lane Only editors before publication.