In 1952, Bentley Motors released the R Type, replacing the Mark VI (produced between 1946 and 1952). The car was Bentley’s second series of post-war automobiles. Apart from radiator grilles and carburation, there was little difference between the R Type and the Rolls Royce Silver Dawn (1949-1955).
The R Type was very similar to the Mark VI, with the notable exception of a much larger boot. As with many Bentley cars, the R Type was available with a standard body or one designed by coachbuilders including H.J. Mulliner & Co, Park Ward, Harold Radford, Freestone and Webb, and Carrosserie Worblaufen.
The R Type is driven by a 4,566 cc, 4.6-Litre IOE straight-6 engine generating 130 hp. The top speed was approximately 120 mph, although the R-Type could comfortably cruise at 100 mph even with four occupants and luggage. The R-Type was an exceptional example of the celebrated British automotive engineering of the time.
The Continental is a high-performance two-door model of the fastest four-seat car of the time. The lightweight body construction, using metal throughout rather than ash-framed bodies, was designed in conjunction with H.J. Mulliner. This was a car that matched luxury with performance, designed to run for long periods at high speeds across Continental Europe. The engine of the Continental was fine-tuned to raise the power to 140-153bhp. In September 1951, at the Montlhèry track near Paris, the sleek new Bentley Continental averaged 118.75 mph over five laps, with a best lap speed just under 120mph. This was an incredible automobile.
The R Type features classic SMITHS instrumentation including:
Between 1952 and 1955 Bentley Motors built 2323 R Type cars, with 208 R-Type Continentals. The R Type proved far more popular than the car’s Rolls Royce competitor, the Silver Dawn, with only 760 produced.
Classic Bentley R Type cars in a good condition have an purchase price of up to £1,100,000 (2019 – Hagerty Insurance). In 1952, the R-Type Continental sold for £6,928, which was almost 15 times the UK average annual income.
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