Bentley Honors W.O. Bentley’s 1924 Road Duel with 12-Car Olympia Collection
Twelve hand-built grand tourers are heading out of Crewe to mark a century of high-speed engineering. Bentley Motors revealed the Olympia Collection by Mulliner, a limited run of Continental GT coupes that trace a direct line back to the 1926 Olympia Motor Show.
Autoevolution.com reported that the new collection pairs modern craftsmanship with nods to the six-cylinder 6 ½ Liter Bentley shown a century ago at the Olympia Motor Show. The project joins a busy heritage schedule for the British manufacturer, following recent public appearances by the vintage 4½ Liter Supercharged Team Car No. 2, known widely as the Blower, alongside scaled models from Hedley Studios and Amalgam Collection.
From a French Countryside Duel to the Drawing Board
The story behind the collection began in the summer of 1924, as Bentley Motors details in its historical archives. W.O. Bentley attended the European Grand Prix in Lyon and drove north toward Dieppe in a prototype six-cylinder car. On an open stretch of the route nationale, his team crossed paths with a test vehicle for the forthcoming ‘Phantom I’ from rival manufacturer Rolls-Royce.
The two drivers engaged in an impromptu, high-speed duel across the French countryside that only ended when a passenger in the opposing car lost their hat. Although the Bentley prototype triumphed, W.O. realized the margin was far too narrow. He returned to his engineers to develop a larger, more powerful engine, leading directly to the 6 ½ Liter architecture previewed as a bare chassis at the 1925 Olympia show before its official production debut a year later.
Mulliner Applies Ombré Paint and Heritage Accents
Each of the 12 Continental GT coupes in the Olympia Collection features a bespoke Verdant to Midnight Emerald Ombré exterior paint finish developed by Mulliner. Champagne Gold badging and a lower bodywork pinstripe reference the nickel silver radiator shells found on early models. The exterior package also includes a Blackline specification and 22-inch black Mulliner wheels accented in Champagne Gold.
Inside the cabin, the color split pairs a heritage-patinated Coach Green main hide with Cumbrian Green secondary hides. The steering wheel features box stitching designed to mimic 1920s rope-bound wheels, while the rear ski hatch displays embroidery outlining W.O. Bentley’s Lyon-to-Dieppe route. Every vehicle comes packaged with a bespoke Brooklands watch, a commemorative handover box, and a dedicated historical volume.
