In 1984, the Bentley Corniche, which by then was produced only as a coupe, was renamed the Bentley Continental. At this time, the convertible version was reintroduced, and the coupe version dropped.
Rolls-Royce had used the name Continental before. Typically, as a sub model name, for example, the 1932 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental. It was used to distinguish a lighter, more powerful variant of the standard model designed for long-distance driving across continental Europe.
The name was then assigned to Bentley’s from 1952 to 1965, which were two-door coupes and convertible versions of saloons, built for additional performance.
The name was dropped when the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow replaced the Silver Cloud, and the corresponding Bentley T replaced the Bentley S.
The Bentley Continental introduced in 1984 was essentially a Rolls-Royce Corniche with a different radiator shape and badging.
The Bentley Continental was produced in fewer numbers than the Rolls-Royce Corniche, with 456 produced. As a classic collector’s car, it is rarer.
From 1995, Bentley also used the name for a series of cars produced until 2003, beginning with the Continental R. These were the first Bentleys not to share a body with a Rolls-Royce.
The modern Bentley Continental GT, introduced in 2003, is different again and was the first new car produced by Bentley after the acquisition by the Volkswagen Group.
