Bentley R type Sports Special 1954
General description :
Vintage and Prestige are proud to offer this 1954 Bentley R-Type Sports Special For Sale.
This beautifully designed R-Type was built by previous owner, a glass engraver by profession, the vendor spent some ten years converting chassis B191WG from a dilapidated R-Type Standard Steel Saloon into his vision of the ultimate Bentley Special. Accompanying photographs show that `OXW 599' was taken back to a bare chassis. The cruciform brace was left in situ but modified so that the drivetrain could be moved back some ten and a half inches. Formerly owned by a Rolls-Royce troubleshooter, Mr York, the car's 4.5-litre engine, four-speed manual gearbox and rear axle were found to be in good order when stripped down (indeed, the straight-six had only had a 10-thou overbore).
Determined to create a car that in his words "handled like a Bentley but rode like a Rolls-Royce", the seller equipped chassis B191WG with a bespoke anti-roll bar and softer front coil springs to better accommodate its greatly reduced kerb weight. Performance was further enhanced via the addition of larger twin SU carburettors and a Laycock de Normanville overdrive (the latter giving eight forward ratios). Carrying echoes of such iconic 1930s designs as the Jaguar SS100 and Mercedes-Benz 540K Spezial Roadster, the Bentley's rakish two-seater coachwork was styled and built by the vendor using a wheeling machine of his own devising. The seller also crafted the car's dashboard, wood veneers and three-position hood not to mention such intricate details as its dished steering wheel, luggage rack, wind-up windows and curved headlamp pillars etc. The four-person picnic case was made from scratch and took some nine months alone to complete! Debuting at the Bentley Drivers Club's Hatfield House Meeting in 1993, the reconfigured `OXW 599' took 1st-in-class during the Concours d'Elegance competition; a feat it repeated at the Bentley Drivers Club's Rousham House Gathering fourteen years later (having collected numerous BDC concours awards in between times). A frequent visitor to the Continent over the past two decades, and starting readily upon inspection, this magnificent and unique R-Type Sports Special is offered for sale at a fraction of what it would cost to have professionally replicated today. A testament to the builders skill and ingenuity, the Bentley is accompanied by a V5C Registration Document, various old MOT certificates and detailed build photos.
In our showroom and ready for viewing.
http://www.vintagerollsroycecars.com/sales/1251/1954-bentley-r-type-sports-special/
1954 Bentley R type Sports Special is listed sold on ClassicDigest in Grays by Vintage Prestige for £148000.
Car Facts
Car type : Car Make : Bentley Model : R type Model Version : Sports Special Engine size : 0.0 Model Year : 1954 Sub type : Race/Rally Car Location : Essex
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About Bentley
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.