Bentley Continental The Genesis (Davide Bassoli)

The history of the iconic Bentley Continental as never told before. The discovery of new material previously unseen, has allowed to bring to the light new details of the fascinating history of the Bentley Continental. From the first thoughts in 1936, to the build of the ‘Embiricos Bentley’, the Corniche, the Cresta, and the launch of the Continental in 1952, the genesis of the iconic Bentley is narrated in the detail, supported by a number of period photographs, drawings and archive material.

The impact of the Bentley Continental in the automotive panorama when introduced in 1952 is told through the autobiographies of some famous first owners. ‘Bentley Continental The Genesis’ is complimentary of my previous opus ‘Continental Journeys’ published in 2017 and do not substitute it.

The features of the book include:

204 + 7 inserts for a total of 236 pages

266 pictures, many of them previously unreleased

Copies of 7 period drawings included to the book

A dedicated chapter about the ‘Embiricos Bentley’ B27LE

A dedicated chapter about the Bentley ‘Corniche’

A dedicated chapter about the Bentley ‘Cresta’

A dedicated chapter about the Bentley ‘Corniche II’, alias the Continental

A technical chapter, explaining how the Bentley ‘Continental’ was built, including the history of the main components suppliers

A chapter dedicated to the style analysis of the Continental and its predecessors, prepared by the former Rolls-Royce and Bentley Chief Stylist Graham Hull

A chapter with 13 biographies of first famous owners with actual photographs glued by hand like a family album

A chapter about the connection between Abbott and the Bentley Continental

A chapter about the Bentley ‘Blizzard’