Car of the Week: This Example of the Most Collectible Postwar Bentley Model Is up for Grabs

Gooding & Company comes to London’s Hampton Court Palace on Friday, August 30, with its annual auction held in conjunction with the Hampton Court Concours of Elegance taking place August 30 through September 1. Highlights of the sale include some wonderful Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, and a very desirable 1954 Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback.

Indisputably the most collectible postwar Bentley, the R-Type is also regarded as among the most elegant and beautiful of all postwar automobiles. A total of 208 R-Type examples were built from 1952 to 1955, but the stunning expression of fluid form and understated style presented by the car being offered is due to the fact that it’s among the 190 examples with a curvaceous body by H.J. Mulliner.

Mulliner’s wind tunnel–tested body—design No. 7277—features a racy fastback profile and a lowered radiator shell that reduces frontal area to further improve aerodynamics. Powered by a 4.9-liter, straight-six engine—with twin SU carburetors—developing about 178 hp, the Mulliner-styled fastback was, according to British magazine Autocar at the time, the quickest four-passenger car of its day. A four-speed gearbox and taller rear-end gear ratio (that reduces engine revs) was given to enhance comfort and composure as the R-Type crossed continents at triple-digit speeds. After all, that was the purpose of a luxury grand tourer whose contemporary owners included racer/builders Briggs Cunningham and André Embiricos, as well as shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. 

Both the R-Type Continental and its only slightly less rarified successor, the S-Type (431 examples of which were produced from 1955 through 1958), used a box-section chassis, and all were fitted with coachbuilt bodies by firms including H. J. Mulliner, Park Ward, James Young, and Hooper. Weight savings was part of the R-Type design brief of chief project engineer Ivan Evernden and Bentley’s Experimental Division, leveraging the success of the Embiricos Bentley that raced three times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Aluminum body panels, bumpers, and even aluminum seat and window frames took pounds off of a very large car.

With a known ownership history from new, chassis No. BC30C retains its original Mulliner body and is finished in Oxford Blue with light beige upholstery and carpets. After five owners in England, the R-Type came to New York in 1985, where its sixth owner kept the car for nearly two decades. The current consigner acquired the car in 2004 and returned it to Graeme Hunt Ltd. in London to undergo a two-year restoration, which included replicating the original colorways.

Subtle improvements were also made at the time of restoration, such as the additions of air conditioning and electric window lifts, allowing its owner to subsequently enjoy 15,000 miles of grand touring throughout Europe and Scotland over the decades since the project was completed. This Bentley R-Type Continental Fastback is expected to fetch between about $827,000 and $955,000.