General description :
1 of only 25 RHD examples
Number 17 of 73 cars built
Removable glass roof panels
Formally part of a significant private collection
Exceptional service history and maintained regardless of expense
One of the top 10 collectors cars the experts say you should watch for in 2019
1998 Bentley Continental SC COUPÉ For Sale In London ( RHD )
By the end of the 1970s, Bentleys accounted for a mere 3% of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ production, clearly a situation that could not be tolerated if the once-famous marque was to avoid extinction. The solution was to seek to re-establish Bentley’s credentials as the purveyor of high-performance luxury cars, and in a move calculated to evoke memories of the company’s glorious past achievements at Le Mans, the name ‘Mulsanne’ was chosen for the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit’s counterpart. This strategy would succeed brilliantly. Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1982, the Mulsanne Turbo provoked a rash of headlines in the motoring press hailing the return of the ‘Blower Bentley’ – the ‘Silent Sports Car’ was back.
Bentley’s 1980s resurgence had hitherto relied exclusively on models whose basic architecture was shared with other Rolls-Royce products, but on display at Geneva in ’85 was ‘Project 90’, a mocked-up coupé intended to gauge public response to the idea of a high-performance car unique to Bentley. When the real thing – the Bentley Continental R – was unveiled six years later, the waiting crowd burst into spontaneous applause. Styled with the assistance of consultants International Automotive Design, the Continental R benefited from computer-aided design and wind tunnel testing in the devising of its sleekly streamlined shape. Despite the need to incorporate non-traditional features such as doors recessed into the roof, the result looked every bit a Bentley, albeit one restated for the 1990s. Also new was the gearbox, a four-speed automatic with an ‘overdrive’ top ratio, but the main focus of interest was the newcomer’s performance. Needless to say, this was outstanding, the combination of the Turbo R engine in the new wind-cheating shape cutting the 0-60mph time to under 6 seconds and boosting top speed to in excess of 150mph.
One of the more exclusive limited-edition variants of this already exclusive model was the Continental SC, its name referencing the exotic Sedanca Coupé bodied Bentleys of the 1930s. Launched at the 1998 Paris Show, the Continental SC featured a Targa-style removable roof, the glass panels being stored in the boot. ‘The SC may be massive, but it obviously isn’t so massive that 400-odd horses can’t give it genuinely impressive punch. The eerie part though is the absolute silence.’ Clearly, the SC’s designers had not lost sight of Bentley’s reputation as ‘The Silent Sports Car.
Finished in Atlantic Blue metallic with perforated Champagne hide, two-tone top role in French Blue and Champagne matching the main hide, finished off with French Blue Wilton carpets and Champagne piping. Burr veneer woodwork, Continual T seats, factory fitted chrome radiator shell, and matrix mesh grill complete the ultra stylish look. Solely maintain by international marque specialists since 2009 the SC was acquired by its last owner 4 years ago where the car in his ownership travelled less than 2000 miles and maintained annual under his stewardship. Tipped by experts to be one of the top 10 cars to keep an eye out for 2019 ‘…Bentley made only 72 examples of the Continental SC, developed from the Continental R and priced at a gut-twisting £245,000…’ – Octane magazine.
Complete with original tools, owner-driver handbooks, factory supplied service book and wealth of invoices complete this exquisite car.
Now available for viewing at the DD Classics Dealership in London, please call 0208 878 3355 for more information.
Before becoming a mere subsidiary to Rolls-Royce, Bentley was an independent Automaker famous for the "fastest lorries in the world" e.i Bentley 4½ Litre.
Good ol' Bentley boys (A group of wealthy British motorists, mainly Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, steeplechaser George Duller, aviator Glen Kidston, S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis, and Dr Dudley Benjafield ) -in their trusty Bentley cars- took four consecutive victories at 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930
In 1931 Bentley was taken over British Central Equitable Trust that later proved to be a front for Rolls-Royce Limited. Unhappy with his role at Rolls-Royce, W.O. Bentley left the company when his contract expired in 1935 duly joining Lagonda. This was beginning of which ultimately led Bentley cars to become more or less badge-engineered Rolls-Royce.