The big story
Bargain auction Bentleys
There are many names from the British motor industry that fire-up enthusiasm; Jaguar, MG, Morgan, Morris and Rolls-Royce all get punters’ hearts a-quivering.
But there’s one make that combined performance with serious comfort for several decades – and it’s not Jaguar. In its early days it achieved much success in competition, but that was swept aside until very recently when it returned to Le Mans.
Step forward Bentley, the car maker founded by a pretty posh fellow who, after an apprenticeship with the Great Northern Railway, turned his attention to motor car manufacture.
While his earliest cars achieve seriously strong money today, the opportunity to drive a Bentley doesn’t require bank-breaking funds. The affordable way into Bentley ownership is with a later T2 model, or its Eight, Mulsanne and Turbo R replacements.
Cynics might suggest that these later models are no more than re-badged Rolls-Royces, and that was true up until the advent of the Turbo, which was rightly described by one magazine as ‘a tidal wave on wheels’. That full-fat performance offers today’s buyers potentially unprecedented value for money, matched only by the older MercedesBenz 450SEL 6.9.
Relatively strong demand in the late 1980s and early 1990s means a healthy supply of Turbo R and less powerful models, while the T-series predecessor remains a rarity as buyers almost always opted for a Silver Shadow instead.
Patience is a necessary virtue for anyone hunting down a T-series, but Anglia Car Auctions’ January sale sold two – a 1968 model that made £10,070 and a 1973 example costing £6420.
Finding a Turbo is less of a chore, and five Turbo Rs, including two long-wheelbase versions, have sold at auction this year, with prices varying from £6820 for a 1986 model sold by Barons, to £21,280 for a 1997 RT offered by Historics. South Western Vehicle Auctions’ first sale of the year saw a long wheelbase 1997 Turbo RL make £12,744.
While it is possible to buy any T-series or Eight/Mulsanne/Turbo for buttons, doing so can be a minefield unless there’s a cast-iron service history, and light regular use is far better than extended periods of inactivity.
‘Light regular use is better than extended periods of inactivity’