Despite the difficult postwar market, Bentley’s luxurious motorcars managed to sell well. They even featured regularly in Ian Fleming’s novels as James Bond’s car of choice.
This particular R Type is presented in fetching black and cream livery and features a comfortable interior with leather upholstery and veneered trim. The car exhibits an air of gentle use and appreciation, without being worryingly shiny. It’s the kind of car you could drive to the shops in without a second thought.
These R Types perform very capably, with their 4.6-litre straight-six engines. They feature interesting inlet-over-exhaust valves and a manual transmission, and the owner informs us that the car is running well.
Entering this Bentley transports us immediately back to the 1950s, with the plush leather seating, veneered trim and Bakelite steering wheel. All is in good order, with an air of gentle use and light patina.
The leather seat covers remain in excellent condition, with only some light creasing and a little wear to the piping, but no obvious damage, stains or scuffs. Front passenger legroom is plentiful, thanks to the right-hand gear change, which allows for a flat floor.
Similarly, the carpets are not new but still very presentable, and trimmed with matching leather. There is a little wear to the reinforcing panel in the driver’s footwell, as well as to the edges of the footwells. And up above, the headlining is good, although there is some slight marking on the inside of the sliding sunroof where it has been opened and closed.
In front of the driver is a large steering wheel with a control for the ride stiffness. And beyond this, we see the veneered dashboard with its large instruments and tactile pull switches. The veneer remains very good, with only minor signs of age, and the car even features a radio mounted beneath the dashboard. The vendor informs us that the glovebox-mounted clock is not currently working.
The veneers continue onto the doors and the sunroof surround and there are pleasing details such as the cur-glass interior light and bevelled mirrors for the rear passengers. Another useful feature is the toolkit stowed under the dashboard. This contains most of its original tools, as well as spare bulbs and spark plugs.
To the rear, there is a spacious luggage compartment, which also holds the spare wheel and a selection of larger tools, such as the starting handle and wheel brace.
In pride of place atop the large chrome plated radiator sits the magnificent winged B emblem, proclaiming the arrival of this luxurious motorcar. The bonnet louvres, headlamp rims and large bumpers are all also beautifully plated and maintain a deep shine. But there is a small dent in the rear bumper and some of the chrome trim pieces and door handles are a little pitted.
Black and cream paintwork suits the car very well and it remains very presentable, although there are of course imperfections, scratches and chips throughout. The front left wheel arch has reportedly had a light scrape in the past, which the vendor tells us is difficult to see in the photographs. There is also a little wear to the paint around the rear lamps.
The car runs on attractive whitewall tyres and features colour-matched hubcaps, the paint upon which has a few chips. The vendor informs us that the tyres retain plenty of tread. And the underside of the car is showing no more than the usual amount of surface corrosion and road dirt we’d expect to see on a car of this vintage.
Underneath the long bonnet of this R Type lies a powerful straight-six engine which provides ample performance. It features an unusual inlet-over-exhaust valve arrangement and we particularly like the clear spark plug boots.
The vendor informs us that the engine runs beautifully, and starts on the button if the car is used regularly. If it has been left unused for a period of time, it can require a little more gentle persuasion to perform a cold start. But this isn’t unusual for a car of this age.
The exhaust can sometimes be heard knocking when going over bumps, due to old leather straps in the mounts, but it is reportedly not usually noticeable. We’re told that the steering, transmission and clutch are all in good working order, and that there are no significant oil leaks.
This R Type appears to be a very useable example of the model. It’s not so shiny that you’d be worried about driving it, so is the ideal car to be regularly enjoyed for its luxury and opulence.
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1952 Bentley R Type Standard Steel Saloon
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