In 2001 Bentley returned to Le Mans after an absence of 71 years, having last contested the world's most prestigious endurance race in 1930, scoring its fifth victory.

Bentley's EXP Speed 8 sports prototype finished a creditable 3rd on its first outing at the Circuit de la Sarthe and in developed form secured an historic sixth victory for the famous British marque in 2003.

To celebrate Bentley's renewed Le Mans campaign the company introduced limited edition 'Le Mans' versions of the existing Continental R and Continental T models.

This latest Continental had first been seen at Geneva in 1985 as a concept car, 'Project 90', a mocked-up coupé intended to gauge public response to the idea of a high-performance car unique to Bentley, whose 1980s resurgence had hitherto relied exclusively on models sharing their basic architecture with other Rolls-Royce products.

When the real thing - the Bentley Continental R - was unveiled six years later, the waiting crowd burst into spontaneous app...