1996 Bentley Continental T Coupé

Footnotes

By the end of the 1970s, Bentleys accounted for a mere 3% of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' production, clearly a situation that could not be tolerated if the once-famous marque was to avoid extinction. The solution was to seek to re-establish Bentley's credentials as the purveyor of high-performance luxury cars, and in a move calculated to evoke memories of the company's glorious past achievements at Le Mans, the name 'Mulsanne' was chosen for the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit's counterpart. This strategy would succeed brilliantly. Launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1982, the Mulsanne Turbo provoked a rash of headlines in the motoring press hailing the return of the 'Blower Bentley' - the 'Silent Sportscar' was back.

Bentley's 1980s resurgence had hitherto relied exclusively on models whose basic architecture was shared with other Rolls-Royce products; but on display at Geneva in '85 was 'Project 90', a mocked-up coupé intended to gauge public response to the idea of a high-performance car unique to Bentley. When the real thing - the Bentley Continental R - was unveiled six years later, the waiting crowd burst into spontaneous applause. Styled with the assistance of consultants International Automotive Design, the Continental R benefited from computer-aided design and wind tunnel testing in the devising of its sleekly streamlined shape. Despite the need to incorporate non-traditional features such as doors recessed into the roof, the result looked every bit a Bentley, albeit one restated for the 1990s. Also new was the gearbox, a four-speed automatic with 'overdrive' top ratio, but the main focus of interest was the newcomer's performance. Needless to say, this was outstanding, the combination of the Turbo R engine in the new wind-cheating shape cutting the 0-60mph time to 6.2 seconds and boosting top speed to in excess of 150mph.

There was even more to come in the form of the Continental T. Introduced in June 1996, the latter was a short-wheelbase version of the Continental R, some 4" being taken out of the chassis aft of the doors. With 400bhp at its disposal and crouching aggressively on 18" wheels, the low-slung Continental T looked every inch the thoroughbred Bentley sports car, the cockpit with its engine-turned dashboard recalling the heroic exploits of W O's 1920s racers. The engine start button was another neat 'retro' touch. Despite weighing as much as two Ford Mondeos, the luxuriously appointed Continental T was certainly no slouch, racing to 60mph in a tyre-shredding 5.8 seconds on its way to a (governor-limited) top speed of 156mph. Equally eye-watering was the price: £220,312 at time of launch.

Finished in Diamond Silver Blue with Silverstone hide upholstery, the example offered here features blue Bentley badges and slate hide steering wheel, gear lever and piping to the front/rear armrests, all of which were factory optional extras. This car is presented in stunning order and clearly has wanted for nothing throughout its life, as evidenced by the accompanying full service history. As well as the service booklet, which has been stamped 17 times by Messrs P&A Wood, Harwoods, and Hanwells, the Continental comes with many recent bills from the latter for general maintenance totalling over £10,000. This car also comes complete with its original factory pack containing all manuals and the aforementioned service booklet; a substantial quantity of receipts for works carried out over the years; current MoT certificate; V5C registration document; and a Bentley battery charger. Produced in very limited numbers - it is estimated that a little over 300 Continental Ts were made, with around a third in right-hand drive form - these magnificent motorcars are rapidly increasing in value and becoming harder to in as good order as this one.