Bentley w12 GTC

It may be named Continental, but the new Bentley is unapologetically British. From the moment that W.O. Bentley’s brand new, three-litre engine roared into life, in his London-based New Street Mews workshops, sometime during October 1919, his dream, his passion “To build a good car, a fast car, the best in class” started coming to fruition. This innovative engine, designed by ex-Royal Flying Corps officer Clive Gallop, had four valves per cylinder, and lightweight aluminium pistons. It was good enough to power Douglas Hawkes’s car, in the 1922 Indianapolis 500 race, at an average speed of 80mph. The 1920s were a golden decade for Bentley. Ettore Bugatti, his greatest competitor…