New One-Off Bentley Continental GT Speed Is An Homage To An Icon

Bentley celebrated 20 years of the Continental GT this past weekend at Monterey Car Week by debuting a special, one-of-one 2023 Continental GT Speed that's been inspired by the very first model to roll off the line. Built by the company's ever-growing Mulliner bespoke wing, it's a birthday present to an icon. When VIN20001 was completed in 2003, it signaled a new era for the esteemed British marque that has seen it grow to be wildly successful and profitable.

As many manufacturers do, Bentley showed out for Monterey. Not only did the company debut a new kind of organic leather for its vehicles, but it also saw it as the perfect opportunity to unveil its new flagship model: the Bentayga EWB Mulliner. Although the Bentayga has done wonders in recent years to boost profits, paying homage to the vehicle that helped to save the brand in the early 2000s seems fitting, and it doesn't hurt that the company did such a good job too.

Bentley considers VIN20001 to be the most important modern vehicle in its Heritage Collection and thus wanted this new one-off to be a spitting image. Having worn the gorgeous Cypress Green paint over Saddle leather with Burr Walnut veneer all of these years, the color combination still stands out. The new GT Speed builds upon this in slight ways but keeps the formula mostly true.

Of course, it wears Cypress Green on the exterior, but on the inside, things diverge in subtle ways. Saddle leather and Burr Walnut are still featured, but the leather gets the new addition of "Special Green" contrast leather and stitching. The dashboard is finished in two types of Dark Burr Walnut, open pore and high gloss, separated by a thin pinstripe of Cypress green to tie it together.

A unique etching of the first generation GT and the current one can also be found there, with the words "20 Years of the Continental" then written underneath. The door sills are also personalized with the phrase "20 years of the Continental GT by Bentley Mulliner."

As this is a top-of-the-line Speed model, it's also richly appointed in just about every other area. It comes with the Blackline, Touring, and Styling options that add carbon fiber flourishes and blacked-out details to make it look properly aggressive. Massive 22" Sports Wheels in Dark Gray Satin bring the whole build together.

The vehicle has already been sold to an American collector who we hope will drive it frequently, if for no other reason than to see the sun glimmer off of that gorgeous shade of green, but also so its sublime twin-turbo W12 can gloriously sing its song before we lose it forever.