The five coolest 'continuation' cars you can buy (if you have LOTS of money)

Monday, 16 September 2019

Continuation cars are a thing now. And we are very happy about that.

The trend of 'continuation' cars - that is classic models that manufacturers recreate in limited runs for very wealthy customers - is on a roll these days, with pretty much all of the prestige British marques getting in on the retro action.

Today we take a look at five of the coolest continuation cars you can buy. If you had enough money. And if they are still available.

Blower Bentley

The most recent entrant into the continuation segment is possibly the most awesome - the mighty supercharged 4 1/2-litre 'Blower' Bentley from 1929 will get a run of 12 cars built by Bentley's 'bespoking and coachwork' division, Mulliner.

The 12 cars will be built using the original moulds and tooling from parts created by stripping down the most valuable Blower built - the one raced by legendary driver Sir Henry 'Tim' Birkin - and 3D scanning every single component.

Bentley says it will take around two years to complete all 12 cars. And, yeah, if you have to ask, you can't afford one.

Aston Martin Goldfinger DB5

Bentley's iconic 1929 'Blower' is getting a limited run of 12 continuation cars. No, we don't imagine they will be cheap.

Is this really a continuation? In some ways, yes - it is a recreation of the Aston Martin DB5 built by the company using the original tooling after all, but it is also a recreation of a car that never technically existed in real life.

But who cares? It is a fully-functional replica of the car that James Bond drove in Goldfinger, complete with all the gadgets featured in the film.

It is being built in what is quite a large run by continuation car standards - 25 models - and will cost an eye-watering NZ$5.4 million.

Oh, and it isn't road legal either.

Jaguar XKSS

This one is arguably the ultimate continuation - Jaguar originally planned to build 25 XKSS models in 1957, but only ever made 16 after a factory fire destroyed the remaining unfinished 9.

The project was abandoned. Until 2017, that was, when the company's historic division (Jaguar Classic) came up with a plan to finish the run, hand-built exactly to 1957 specification, with the only real concessions to convenience/safety 2017-style being a modern battery and stronger fuel tank.

Despite the NZ$1.76 million asking price, all nine quickly sold, with one even making its way here to New Zealand, thanks to the Giltrap Group.

The unveiling of the $1.76milion Jaguar XKSS, the only one of its type in Australasia.

Alvis

While the other cars on this list are made using original tooling, plans and moulds, Alvis' continuation series is even more unique and historic - they are using actual parts that have been in storage for more than 50 years.

The company offers two chassis and six body options with post-war derivatives assembled using original chassis and engine blocks unused since production stopped in 1968.

Engines are new, built from original designs, but with modern fuel injection systems and engine management software to comply with emission regulations in a number of markets, including Japan.

Alvis doesn't mention prices, but around NZ$500,000 will get you one. A relative bargain, really.

Avanti II

Okay, so these cars are actually now classics in their own right, but the Avanti II was technically the first continuation car, after Studebaker dealers Nate and Arnold Altman restarted production of the Studebaker Avanti two years after it was dropped by the company.

Studebaker stopped making cars altogether in 1966, but the Avanti technically stayed in production until 2006, after struggling through five different owners and, eventually, becoming a Ford Mustang-based replica of itself.

The company finally collapsed after the arrest of fifth (and, interestingly, also third) owner Michael Kelly for running a large Ponzi scheme and, with it, the idea of continuation cars. Until now.