Bentley's Olympia Collection: 12 bespoke Continental GTs inspired by a 1924 roadside race

In 1924, W.O. Bentley was driving through the French countryside with three colleagues, testing a new six-cylinder prototype. At a junction they came upon a test team from one of Bentley's fiercest rivals, who happened to be out in a prototype of their own. The two cars met somewhere between Lyon and Dieppe, recognised each other, and raced along a straight, tree-lined stretch of road at more than 129km/h.

Bentley's car came out ahead, but apparently not by enough to satisfy its famously competitive founder. Back in England he decided the engine needed more power and increased its capacity from 4.5 litres to 6.5 litres. He later wrote that the aim was to keep Bentley "two steps ahead". The resulting 6.5 litre made its production debut two years later, at the 1926 Olympia Motor Show in London.

A century on, that encounter has inspired the Olympia Collection by Mulliner, Bentley's bespoke division. It consists of just 12 individually numbered Continental GTs, each finished in a combination of colours, materials and details meant to honour the original 6.5 litre and the man behind it.

The context matters. Bentley's first production model, the 3 Litre, had already built the company's reputation for performance. But customers were asking for something bigger and more luxurious, especially as heavier coach-built bodies grew popular. The six-cylinder 6.5 litre answered that, with more power and refinement while keeping the sporting character. Its later Speed Six version won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in both 1929 and 1930.

The exterior starts with British Racing Green. In the 1920s there was no single agreed shade, and automotive pigments could change colour over the years, especially in the sun, so historic Bentleys vary. Rather than pick one, Mulliner created an ombré finish that shifts from Verdant to Midnight Emerald across the bodywork, a transition that takes 56 hours to achieve. Champagne Gold appears on the badges, the lower bodywork pinstripe and the 22-inch Mulliner wheels, whose accents are meant to recall 1920s spoked wheels. Black exterior trim adds a contemporary edge, and discreet Olympia Collection badges on the front wings set the car apart from a standard Continental GT. Opening the door triggers an animated welcome light that projects an illustration of W.O. Bentley's Lyon-to-Dieppe drive onto the ground.

Inside, the palette is green, dark wood and warm metal. The seats are in bespoke Coach Green leather with a patinated finish that looks already aged, with Cumbrian Green as a secondary shade. Black-stained, open-pore crown-cut walnut covers the dashboard and door trims. Champagne Gold returns on the seat piping, gear selector and organ-stop ventilation controls, and the switchgear is diamond-knurled. The steering wheel's box stitching nods to the rope-wrapped wheels of early Bentleys. The Bentley Rotating Display carries a specially designed clock and dials inspired by the speedometer of the 1926 6½ Litre. On the rear ski hatch, an embroidered map traces the Lyon-to-Dieppe route, with the surrounding region in Cumbrian Green and the route in Champagne Gold.

Each car also comes with commissioned keepsakes. The centrepiece is a mechanical chronograph from Brooklands Watch Co, numbered to match the car, with a strap made from the same Coach Green leather as the interior. It has two interchangeable tachymeter bezels inspired by the Outer Circuit and the Double Twelve Circuit at Brooklands, the Surrey racing venue important to Bentley's early motorsport history. Owners also receive a commemorative book on the collection's story, a handcrafted presentation box and a green car cover with Champagne Gold detailing.

Bentley has not disclosed the price. With only 12 cars being built, it is reasonable to expect it will be high.