1989 Bentley Turbo R *Sold £7,400*

Description

• Current owner for 17 years
• Low mileage and Service History
• 75L V8 turbocharged engine
• A desirable colour combination
• Comes with private plate B13 NTL

The Bentley Turbo R. A genuine classic. A hand-built performance saloon, trimmed with the finest materials and powered by a turbocharged 6.75-litre V8 engine. Making a 0-60mph time in around 7.0 seconds!

History

Since the 1970s, Rolls-Royce Managing Director David Plastow, wanted to add a high-powered Bentley model to the range. The Bentley Mulsanne Turbo was launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1982. Its introduction is significant. Previous Bentley models were rebadged versions of the Rolls-Royce. The Mulsanne Turbo represented a genuine alternative. It meant a step change for the brand.

Early Mulsanne Turbos were rather undeveloped. It had a 4 barrel Solex carburettor. with running gear similar to the standard Mulsanne. It became quickly apparent that improvements to the gearbox, driveline and suspension were needed in order to cope with the increased engine power.

The Mulsanne name was dropped. The first Bentley Turbo R (R for roadholding) was launched in 1985:

• Fatter, wider tyres
• Colour coded grille
• Front & rear spoilers
• Tauter front & rear Anti-Roll Bars
• The Bentley Turbo R represented the blueprint for all of the Turbo models that followed and the improvement in the brand
• The first major overhaul of the model range came in 1987 with the introduction of fuel injection and ABS across all models

Paperwork

• One owner for the last 16 years
• Regularly maintained and serviced by the same garage throughout that time
• Fully operational aircon converted to modern R134
• Everything works as it should-
• Please see the gallery for paperwork images, including the 15 page handwritten list of works undertaken and parts at an eye-watering cost of £9996.86 whilst at Richard B Watson

Engine

Beneath that beautiful exterior, lies something of a sleeper. The  6.75 litre turbocharged V8 will potter about silently. But with a large single turbo setup, giving a very old school, big turbo surging power delivery with turbine like output, the R flies. The Turbo R was capable of 0-60 in 7.0 seconds. Considering the sheer quantity of steel, leather and woodwork that it needed to move, that is impressive.

The long-serving 6.75 litre pushrod V8 is very much a known quantity. It won’t spring any surprises. It’s an under-stressed unit and is lazy in operation, majoring on torque rather than high revs. It is therefore not unusual to see these well engineered units run as far as 250,000 miles.

This one is a bit different. It has just 66,000 miles on it. In the 14 years since 2008 it has covered just a fraction over 5,000 miles. In fact, since last century, this Bentley Turbo R has only covered 17,000 miles!

Our vendor has owned it for 16 years and tells us the Bentley R Turbo has been regularly serviced by his local garage.

Carb-fed cars use twin SU’s and can suffer with tricky hot starting, but the fuel-injected engines, such as this one are universally considered to be the ones to have and should be easy to live with.

Aswell as documenting all MOTs and mileage for the last 23 years, our vendor also helpfully provided us with a list of servicing dates and work undertaken during his ownership:

Outside

The Pressed Steel Company made Bentley Turbo R bodyshells out of thick metal which explains the car’s 2.5-tonne heft.

The doors, bonnet and boot lid are aluminium and don’t generally suffer from the dreaded tin worm.

Being with the same owner for 17 years does make a difference. On the whole, this Bentley Turbo R’s bodywork looks to have been well looked after.

Our vendor has been very meticulous when supplying the photographs for the gallery. He has taken images from what we can only described as inches away from the Bentley, to detail the odd minor scuff and stone-chip that is quite usual on classic of this age.

Most of the exterior brightwork is stainless steel making it relatively easy to remove and repolish if you’re that way inclined. It doesn’t look like it needs though. The expensive genuine Bentley wheels look to be in good condition.

We asked our vendor – does the car have any niggles.. he told us “The boot does not fuction on central locking, it needs the key to be inserted to lock” that’s not such a big deal really is it!

Oh, and it also comes with a great private plate – B13 NTL

Interior

The interior of a Bentley has to be the very definition of luxury:

• Dove Grey leather with Wine Velour trim
• Birds Eye Maple wood fascia
• Deep carpet with matching Wine coloured lambswool rugs
• Modern radio fitted which includes a media lead
• The original radio is with the car
• Lambswool covers
• Custom car cover

Open the door and smell the leather and wood. Jump in and feel your feet sink into the deep wool of the carpet mats All around is the finest wood money could buy.  The classic black and white clocks nod at Bentley’s rich sporting pedigree. Very appropriate on the Turbo R.

We note very little wear on the seats – in fact they look almost new.

The wood has the deepest colour and gloss and is in beautiful condition, both on the dash and on the door caps.

There is plenty of period technology on board, buttons for the electric seats are in the middle.

The carpet is in very good condition with hardly any wear, just a few marks here and there that need a clean up, and the headlining is in excellent condition.

A wonderful example of a Bentley Turbo R. It has clearly been well looked after and kept to a lovely standard.

Bottom line

When these were launched, the price tag was £116,000. Today the Bentley R Turbos can be had for a fraction of that

But their fast growing classic status coupled with their scarcity is seeing the prices of good, well-looked after survivor’s like this one starting to trend up

There is a certain amount of mis-informed myth and rumour around Bentley. They are essentially simple, old fashioned heavily over-engineered British cars. Most have-a-go DIY-minded owners can achieve a huge amount without getting in over their head. There are no electronic chips or plug-in computer modules needed. This one already starts from a great base by a vendor who has looked after it well for nearly two decades of ownership. That is quite rare.

The Bentley Turbo R will always be a Bentley. As a choice of a great luxury classic car, its value and quality is a no brainer.

Vehicle Location: Elgin, Moray IV30 – it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor.

Have a question about this Bentley Turbo R? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

 Guide Prices?

We’re different. But you know that. And we’re always honest. In a sector where no two classics are same, how does anyone put a ‘guide’.

Well, everyone knows the broad value of classic, let’s all be honest. So we don’t need to tell you what you already know, do we.

The ‘market’ decides and the old cliché that ‘it’s are worth what someone wants to pay’ is no less true. So why kid everyone!

But, because we are different, if it really does matter to you, that’s fine, we want you to be happy. Just drop us a line at auction@evoke-classics.com and one of us will be delighted to ring you back and discuss, it’s what we do.

Tedious but it’s vital you read this, please.

We will always strive to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available. However, we can’t claim to be perfect. Your own analysis is very important and we are here to help and also answer any and all queries you may have prior to purchase.

We offer and positively encourage bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding.

If we do take a physical, as opposed to a remote, look at any of the vehicles on our platform, they are not those of a qualified vehicle inspector or other professional. Nor do they include a test drive unless expressly stated.

As with all vehicles of a certain age, localised paint repairs are common. This specifically applies with classics.

So, please, unless we state explicitly to the contrary, please assume that classic vehicles on our platform could have had remedial bodywork of any kind at some point in its life.

Two final comments on images and photos.

The vast majority are supplied by vendors. Camera technology has and continues to improve significantly, but please note and understand that image and sound quality does vary. If you would like vendors to provide more images please ask us and we will contact the vendor for you.

If you are at all unsure, just ask us. It is what we are here for.

Finally, finally, finally. Please note that vehicles are sold as seen and a returns policy is not applicable. This is the norm for used items acquired at auction.

Our Terms and Conditions are here and our FAQS can be found here or contact us: auction@evoke-classics.com

Got one you’d like to sell? Please feel free to get in touch to have a no obligation chat with us:

Contact The Evoke Team