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Bentley - Summer of success for Bentley’s Heritage Collection
| 2025-09-10 |   |
The Bentley Heritage Collection has achieved new successes at three major concours event over the summer. One-of-one 1939 Mk V Corniche became the first ever manufacturer-entered car to be fully judged at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. 1953 R Type Continental – the origin of the Continental GT’s name and design DNA – won best-in-class at the Salon Privé Concours. 1930 8 Litre saloon, originally driven by W.O. Bentley himself, wins best manufacturer-entered car at Hampton Court Concours of Elegance.
Bentley’s expanded Heritage Collection has scored three special results over a busy summer of activities, supporting Bentley’s presence across some of the biggest live events of the automotive calendar. Two class wins and a “first ever” mark the recent completion of the task to rebuild the Collection, which now stands at 50 cars from across 106 years of Bentley history – 40 driveable, road-legal road cars and 10 ready-to-run racing machines.
While Bentley’s new EXP 15 design vision concept car was resplendent on the Concept Lawn at this year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, on the main show field the one-of-one 1939 Mk V Corniche was becoming the first ever manufacturer-entered car to be fully judged in the event’s 75 year history. Reborn over the course of a 15+ year project, initially by a team of dedicated Derby-era Bentley enthusiasts and the Rolls Royce Heritage Trust before being completed with the assistance of Mulliner, the Corniche has recently been re-registered on its original number plate – GRA 270 – and successfully completed the ‘Tour d’Elegance’ drive along the Monterey coastline ahead of the Concours.
Supporting Mulliner’s presence at this year’s Salon Privé at Blenheim Palace, Bentley’s 1953 R Type Continental – JAS 949 – was entered into the dedicated class for classic cars with HJ Mulliner coachwork. Resplendent following a recent mini-restoration, ‘Jas’ successfully collected the first ever Concours award for the Heritage Collection, winning Best-in-Class. The trophy is now on display together with the car in Bentley’s dedicated Heritage Garage at the company campus in Crewe, England.
Finally, one of the most important cars in the Collection entered last weekend’s Hampton Court Concours of Elegance. Bentley’s 1930 8 Litre Weymann saloon is deemed by many to be W.O. Bentley’s finest achievement, and the example in the Collection is the second of the 100 cars that were built. It was driven by W.O. for a period of around 18 months, with regular trips to France, and it still serves today as the ceremonial ‘Chairman’s car’, with the spare keys kept with a model of the car in the CEO’s office. Entered into a new ‘manufacturers class’ to avoid competition with private collectors, the 8 Litre won the award for the best manufacturer-entered car, while being joined at the event by a 10-car display from the Collection from 1926 to 2012.
Mike Sayer - Head of the Bentley Heritage Collection
“The recent recognition of the quality, condition and importance of the Bentleys that have attended concours events over the summer is testament to the hard work of the team in Crewe who have helped to rejuvenate the Collection. It now represents the entire company history, with 50 extraordinary, driveable vehicles that together describe the evolution of Bentley design, performance and craftsmanship. The entire fleet is now regularly consulted by Bentley’s R&D teams to help inform the future, and we will continue to use the cars to guide new developments while showcasing our history at events around the world.”
The next Heritage Collection focus will be on three significant birthdays in Bentley’s four-door sedan lineage, which will be celebrated in October by three new and bespoke Flying Spurs. More details will follow next month.