With the added perk of super-rarity, the Bentley Continentals of the Sixties remain among the most sought-after of the marque’s classic cars. Gooding & Company’s 2023 Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance® auction is offering a rare left-hand-drive 1961 Bentley S2 two-door saloon with coachwork by H.J. Mulliner that exemplified this model’s divergence from the parent company. It has a pre-sale estimate of $400K-$500K.
Bentley was born racing, and while most of its 100+ years have been spent away from the track, the company is going back with one of the 1929 Bentley Blower Continuation Cars it has built. The car, created using blueprints and 3D scans of an original car in Bentley’s Heritage Collection, will compete at three major historic automobile races through September. Bentley is also celebrating the 20th anniversary of its sixth and final victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a limited-edition series of 48 “Le Mans Collection” Continental GT and GTC models.
Forget March Madness, Florida brought the heat to the collector car world with the quartet of Amelia Island auctions booking $186 million in sales, a record for the venue. The top sale, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider, accounted for $18M by itself. Ferraris grabbed 13 slots across the four auctions’ Top-10 lists, and Porsches took four. Modern supercars made some auction Top-10 lists, including $5.3M for a rare Pagani Zonda and $2.4M for a McLaren P1. A 1931 Duesenberg put the spotlight on Pre-war cars with a $4.3M sale.
The new Rolls-Royce battery-powered “Spectre,” arriving in late 2023, provides a “magic carpet ride” of luxury. In fact, the Spectre’s suspension uses an array of cameras and sensors to “read” the road surface ahead and preemptively adjust the ride on the go. Pricing is expected to be over $400,000, and orders are already coming in.
The 2021 Wraith starts at about $330,000 before you put your stamp on it with options. At over $100,000 less than the Rolls, the Bentley coupe might be boisterous twice-removed cousin.
Rolls-Royce has produced a truly spectacular automobile with the 2021 Ghost, one that starts at $332,500. The original Ghost was well liked over its decade run; the new one will remind you of how 10+ years of luxury progress can transform a car.
