Bentley has announced that the Mulliner Speed Six Continuation Series has completed its test programme, following its global dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The festival saw the firm's second of two Mulliner Speed Six Continuation Series development cars - the Bedford Grey 205 bhp 'Factory Works' example - completing its global dynamic debut after making eight separate runs up the famous Goodwood hill climb all without hesitation or concern, marking the last significant shakedown activity in its development.
Bentley states that Car Zero (the first Mulliner Speed Six Continuation Series development car) has already passed a series of tests on the dynamometer and racetrack, with the example having already seen a 1,000km shakedown in Mulliner's base in Crewe, as well as an 8,000km intensive mileage accumulation at Millbrook Proving Ground. The latter test session saw it being tested on the Belgian pave, the sinuous Alpine course, and taking on multiple top speed test runs, as well as unmetalled surfaces of a kind that would have been familiar to Bentley drivers of the 1920s. By the end of the test programme Car Zero had covered 11,700 km of intensive test mileage, enough for ten return journeys from Crewe to Le Mans, and the equivalent of 30,000km in normal driving.
Mileage accumulation complete, Car Zero was also passed to a team of pro drivers. Lapping Goodwood Motor Circuit at race speeds, Car Zero covered 500km and 130 laps in a single session - equivalent to running six consecutive Vintage races at the Goodwood Revival. The car is said to have performed impeccably, consistently matching recent Goodwood lap times of original pre-war Bentleys throughout this test session.
Bentley states that has already now started work on the 12 Mulliner Speed Six Continuation Series customer cars, each of which will be trimmed and finished to its owner's specifications from a choice of period-correct finishes and materials. First deliveries of the car are scheduled to start in late 2024.
