Today, the heart of the Bentley lineup is the Continental GT and its lineage, as you’d expect, is suitably historical. Inspired both in name and design by the R-Type Continental, the legendary car is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

The very first deliveries of the R-Type Continental were made in 1952 and, at the time, it had the distinction of being the fastest four-seater on earth. It was also the most expensive vehicle in production, ringing in at £6,928. That amounts to £140,156 ($176,249 USD at current exchange rates) in today’s money. That doesn’t quite do it justice, though, because, in 1952, it cost four times as much as the average house in England.

The car you got for that money, though, was pretty impressive. Inspired by Bentley’s pre-war experiments with aerodynamics, the company decided to make a sleek coupe based on the R-Type Bentley saloon. The resulting model was the first in its history to bear the “Continental” name.

Read Also: Continental GT Speed DNA Traces Its Roots All The Way Back To The R-Type Continental

Like the R-Type, the Continental was powered by a 4,566 cc straight-six. For the new model, it was tuned to make 153 hp (114 kW/155 PS) instead of the standard car’s 140 hp (104 kW/142 PS) and the transmission featured a higher final drive ratio. Those changes combined to make a car that was capable of averaging a speed of 118.75 mph (191.1 km/h) over five laps on the banked Montlhéry track near Paris.

In all, the automaker built just 208 examples of the R-Type Continental, making it as rare a sight in its day as it is now. Of these, 193 of the bodies were made by HJ Mulliner, five were made by Franay, three by Graber, and one by Farina, while Park Ward made four dropheads and two coupes.

Bentley writes that when it was working to begin its new era in 2003, it chose the Continental name intentionally. The new vehicle’s design was not only inspired by the R-Type Continental, but its claim to being the fastest four-seater on earth was also a direct homage to the car from 1952.

Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day
Bentley Celerbates 70th Anniversary Of The First Continental, The Most Expensive Car Of Its Day