Bentley has been in a nostalgic mood lately, going to enormous trouble to pair their new models with the old ones so they can snap a few photos of them. So after uniting the new Continental GT3 with the old Blower Bentley, they are now taking us back to 1952 as a R-Type Continental comes to visit the 2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed.

The similarities between the 1952 R-Type Continental and the 2016 Bentley Continental GT Speed go way deeper than just sharing a name. Just as Speed is one of the fastest luxury coupes of its time, the R-Type was the fastest four-seater in the world when it was new with a top speed of 120 mph. What’s more, many of the 208 examples produced were coachbuilt by Mulliner, just as most of today’s GT Speeds are customized in one way or another by the division.

Powered by a 626bhp W12 motor developing 820 Nm of torque, Bentley Continental GT Speed is a cross between a supercar and a deluxe luxury cruiser, offering superb comfort and breakneck speed at the same time. It can accelerate form 0 to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds and reach a top speed of 206 mph / 331 km/h while maintaing such a refined equilibrium you would barely notice you are moving. As for the Mulliner Driving Specification for this model, the highlights include diamond quilting, indented leather headliner and alloy sports foot pedals.