Marque: Bentley - Company History & Models - Cars By Brand

PAST: The revival of the Continental was brilliantly timed and the design was unique to Bentley when launched in 1991 and based upon the existing Mulsanne Turbo platform. Two years later a revamp yielded more power with the chassis retuned to suit. In 1995 a Zytec engine management was fitted while two years later the range was expanded with the Continental T followed by the Targa-top SC Targa in 1999, which featured a twin glass panel roof and a special interior.

PRESENT: A wonderful modern remake of the Continental giving super car pace, fine handling and top drawer refinement. Zytec-equipped cars are regarded as best models as it improved overall drivability.

FUTURE: Always a classic in the making, already values are starting to harden for good cars. Probably too new to need restoring of course but specialists warn that there’s a fair few tatty cars around.

PAST: First of the post war Bentleys available in a wide variety of body styles, including specials, but apart from centralised lubrication the cars had no real advanced features although build quality was naturally top drawer. ‘R’ Type featured better 4.6-litre engine (still Inlet-over exhaust design though) and now has the option of
automatic transmission.

PRESENT: An acquired taste like all vintage cars of course but they cruise well and offer adequate pace for modern roads. Comfort is always of a high order, as you’d expect.

FUTURE: Prices remain extremely reasonable considering their pedigree although we can see values rising steeply over the years. Most vehicles used steel construction and so rust is a major concern and parts are hardly plentiful either. Restoration costs will be massive and will probably exceed car’s worth for many years.

PAST: First of the modern post war designs with classical styling and uprated chassis featuring advanced electrically controlled dampers. Engine now enlarged to 4.9-litres with six port head for a lot more urge. First cars lacked power steering but it soon came on stream in 1956. Longer wheel base option for 1957 while V8 introduced for S2s of ’59 with four-speed Hydramatic auto. S3s of ‘62 feature quad headlamps, better seats and reworked V8 to cure early ills.

PRESENT: These swift and stylish luxury saloons are becoming hot property because they are still fine value for money and smack of old money taste. Fingerlight power steering makes the going easy. Beautiful cruisers but early V8s are fickle and six pot unit is the wiser choice.

FUTURE: Already prices are starting to surpass Silver Shadow values and we reckon this will continue. They all rot like mad and many were bodged over the years.

The price of being able to blow away Escorts in a turbocharged wing-back armchair was an inheritance-shrinking £101,400. The Escorts are all but gone, but you can buy a 320bhp Bentley Turbo R for the same price you’d have shelled out for an XR3i back in the 80s. Prices start from around £7000 for an early car, which is dangerously tempting. Cheaper and less likely to have grazed its knees in a scrap with hot hatches is the more sedate Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, a car built around the same bodyshell and using the same 6.75-litre V8. That was launched in 1980, with the lengthened Silver Spur following on to provide sir with some extra room to flap the Times in the rear. The chauffeur may have long gone, but so too has the premium pricing. £5000 is all you need for a mechanical lottery, or double it for a decent Roller. You might want to look post-1986 for better build quality along with ABS brakes and fuel injection instead of carburettors, but neither the Bentley or Rolls have much to do with modernity. The engines are mostly reliable, never having done much more than throb lazily (even the Turbo Rs), but they will rust in places like the wheel arches and the wing bottoms. All that weight also puts stresses on suspension components that will eventually give up expensively. But whatever state it’s in, a Roller or Bentley never loses the aroma of riches.