Marque: Bentley - Company History & Models - Cars By Brand
Bentley
In 1919 W. O. Bentley produced his first car, a three litre model which was displayed at the London Motor Show. However, already the founder of the company bearing his name had also designed rotary engines for aircraft, and had imported D.F.P. cars. In addition he was a trailblazer in the world of aluminium pistons. Under the bonnet of the 3-litre Bentley was an overhead camshaft, four-cylinder…
Bentley Mulsanne/Turbo R/Rolls-Royce Silver Spur/Spirit
Fast Facts
- Produced:
1980-97 - Engine:
6.75-litre V8 - 0-60 mph:
6.6sec - Top Speed:
145mph - Power:
226/320bhp
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.
Bentley Continental (1950’S)
PRICE: £30,000-£75,000+
Fast Facts
- Produced:
1952-59 - Bodywork:
Two-door sports saloon - Engine:
R’ Type: Overhead inlet/side exhaust valve in-line six-cylinder 4566cc; ‘S’ Type: Overhead inlet/side exhaust valve in-line six-cylinder 4887cc - 0-60 mph:
‘R’ Type: 13.5 sec; ‘S’ Type: 13 sec - Top Speed:
‘R’ Type: 115+ mph; ‘S’ Type: 120mph - MPG:
11-20mpg
PAST: A true traditional sporting Bentley with superb looks and real pace for its era, the car was based upon the Rolls Silver Dawn. The Bentley’s lovely shape was ‘aero-tested’
by Rolls-Royce for quiet cruising while aluminium build kept the weight down. ‘R’ and ‘S’ Types both from 1952 with former deleted after four years.
PRESENT: Still a sensation after all those years, these Continentals are very satisfying cruisers. Performance is more than adequate but it’s the real sense of occasion and comfort levels which mark the cars out as well as the car’s style and rarity.
FUTURE: You don’t need a crystal ball to predict that these Bentley beauties will escalate in value – not that they’re exactly cheap now. Restoration costs will be huge due to specialty of the bodywork and only a few Rolls/Bentley specialists can deal with this car.
