Registration No: EGC 748B
Chassis No: B140YD
MOT: Exempt

• Finished in Tudor over Shell Grey, as originally delivered
• Matching chassis and engine numbers
• Older restoration still presenting very well
• Much recent expenditure (£60,000) at Bentley Specialist

An obvious evolution of its MkVI predecessor, the Bentley R-Type was introduced at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show. Subtly reworked from the previous model by in-house stylist John Blatchley, it boasted a notably larger boot and reprofiled rear wings. Switching from riveted to welded frame construction at chassis B349TO, the newcomer featured independent coil-and-wishbone front suspension, a leaf-sprung 'live' rear axle and servo-assisted four-wheel drum brakes (hydraulic front / rod rear). Powered by a 'big bore' 4566cc straight-six inlet-over-exhaust engine allied to either four-speed manual or automatic transmission, the R-Type was a surprisingly strong performer, able to reach more than 100mph. Praised by the contemporary motoring press for its high-speed handling and well-appointed interior, the model remained in production until 1955 by which time some 2,017 Standard Steel Saloons are thought to have been made with many features the same as the R-Type continental.

Chassis number B140ZY passed its final inspection at the Bentley factory in Crewe in August 1954, being supplied new to its first owner, Major E.H. Spalding through Main Dealer Bennetts Ltd. on the 8^th of September that year. Specified from new with an automatic gearbox and trafficators, and being finished in Shell Grey over Tudor Grey with a Light Blue Connolly hide interior upholstery piped in Blue, complemented by Grey Wilton carpets and a Grey cloth headlining, unfortunately little further is known of the Bentley's early history. Subsequently known to have been owned in the early 1980s by a Bentley Drivers Club member who based in Bermuda, the car was then sold in November 1999 to a British owner who resided in Mulhouse, France. It appears that sometime around 2015 he sold the car to a member of his family in Canada who then spent close to £60,000 with Rolls-Royce & Bentley Specialists The Beaconsfield Workshop over the next few years to carry out a comprehensive cosmetical and mechanical renovation, incorporating body refurbishment and repaint, suspension, brakes, cooling system and ignition system overhauls, interior wood veneers refurbishment and rejuvenating the leather interior together with replacing the interior headlining.. With a recorded mileage of c.49,700 miles, the Bentley is offered with the original tool kit and under-bonnet torch, copies of the build records, a collection of invoices detailing the extensive works completed in the last decade and a current V5C document. Rated by the vendor as ‘very good’ in regard to engine, gearbox, and electrical equipment, with the interior trim, bodywork, and paintwork all equally rated as ‘very good’, the R-Type has recently been serviced by Bentley Specialists the Beaconsfield Workshop and drove exactly like a proper R-Type should during the photoshoot.

For more information, please contact:
Julian Pinkster
julian.pinkster@handh.co.uk
07889 223 904