Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1996 Bentley Turbo R James Young
One of just six examples produced
Estimate
£20, 000 - £24, 000
Registration No: N850 JNO
Chassis No: SCBZR15C9TCH57638
MOT: May 2025
Unique specification and the only example with Moon roof option deleted
c.£188, 000 list price at launch in 1996
One of just six examples produced
The name of James Young has been synonymous with the highest standards of craftsmanship since the early days of the age of the motor car. Having been a coachbuilder famous for high quality carriages since the mid 1800s, the company’s first commission for automotive coachwork came in 1908 when a sitting Member of Parliament engaged it to clothe a Wolseley chassis. From the 1920s there began a long association with Bentley and Rolls-Royce and by the late 1930s, following the end of the Great Depression and the appointment of new chief designer Mac McNeil (recently poached from Gurney Nutting & Co) the company was producing designs that became increasingly sought after by discerning clients the world over. Sadly, by the 1960s the coachbuilder’s art was no longer in commercial demand and the final James Young bodies would adorn the Rolls-Royce Phantom V prior to the company’s demise in 1968.
Produced as a strictly limited edition at the behest of H R Owen to celebrate their acquisition of the James Young coachbuilding firm’s name, the Turbo R James Young / Turbo R H. R. Owen was produced only in 1996 and was available with a list price of almost £188, 000. Just six examples were built. Available only in Kensington Green or Madagascar Purple as optioned here, the exclusive model featured a number of improvements and modifications over the standard offering. These included a small limousine style rear window for additional privacy, styled air ducts to the front wings and bonnet, colour-keyed and chrome meshed radiator shell, colour-coded bumper top plates, grille surround and badges, carbon fibre in place of the usual interior woodwork, restyled instrumentation with a turbo boost gauge, two-tone Bridge Of Weir leather and sports seats with additional side bolsters and extended front seat cushions, specially commissioned body coloured 17 inch five spoke wheels, red brake callipers, single oval exhaust tail pipe, push button engine start, James Young logo stainless steel tread plates to the door sills, graduated sun dym green tinted glass for security and heat resistance, sophisticated alarm & immobiliser, upgraded Hi Fi system, polished instrument surrounds and orange lighting, James Young logo embroidered overmats and head rest covers, in car telephones, silk lined case and even a boot lid mounted James Young logo umbrella.
Mechanically the cars featured a sports gearbox and uprated engine management system which pushed power to approaching 400 bhp. In addition, the example offered here features a deletion of the Moon roof option and upgraded headlights and fully remote control sound system. It also features a telephone in the boot, presumed to be for use in a kidnap or hijacking situation! The tool kit is said to be unused and even retains the white gloves. Correct Avon turbospeed tyres are fitted to the special wheels and the car is said to “drive and perform beautifully with effortless power” from its 6750cc engine.
Having been used regularly but sparingly over the past ten years it is said to retain all its original items and to clearly have been cherished throughout its life. The odometer currently registers some 72, 000 miles and the car will be driven to the auction venue. Now only being offered for sale for the sole reason it has to make way for a Bentley Continental Convertible, this stunning and exclusive Bentley comes with Swansea V5C, current MoT test certificate to May 2025, driver’s handbook, service books, spare keys, numerous invoices, old MoT test certificates, order and build sheet with specification documentation and a quality interior car cover.
