Quentin Willson

on the inexpensive Bentley, expensive Citroën and moderately priced Maserati to keep your eye on

Have you noticed how elegant the Bentley Turbo R looks now? See one whooshing past and it leaves you in a slipstream of desire. They’ve mellowed nicely into card-carrying classic territory and are perfect to grace the lawns of any old car event.

Last month H&H sold Prince Charles’s ’94 Turbo RL for just £15,300. With extensive history and many bespoke factory extras, this was HRH’S personal transport from the era of Princess Diana and carried a kudos well above its hammer price. In the same sale Michael Winner’s Amethyst Blue Brooklands R Mulliner (one of only 100 made) with 78,000 miles didn’t sell despite an estimate of £16,000. Last year CCA sold one of Elton John’s many Bentleys, an ’85 Turbo R in Masons Black with 64,000 and detailed history, for just £10,120. These are celebrity Bentleys at Triumph Stag money and seem undervalued to me.

Look hard and you can now find good Turbo Rs for even less. Last year Silverstone sold a 27,000-mile ’91, also in super-desirable black, for just £8437; and SWVA in Poole sold a facelifted green ’97 with the floor shift and revised bumpers, warranted 63k and with Bentley history, for £11,800.

Having had five Turbo Rs in a row I can testify to their titanic performance, fun and sheer old-fashioned gloriousness. Yet they can also be daily drivers more than capable of devouring continents. Turbo Rs are a quarter of the price of Silver Clouds and Standard Steel Bentleys but are just as majestic and infinitely more entertaining. Prices are low for a reason, though – 15mpg is painful and you’ll need to spend at least £700 a year on servicing and tyres. But never has so much class, luxury and heave been available for so little outlay. Snap up one of the current crop of low-priced Turbo Rs with small miles and big histories and you won’t stop smiling – like the enlightened buyer at CCA’S September sale who bought Tom Conti’s ’90 Turbo RL with 77,000 and full history for just £8800. Clever man.

‘Never has so much class, luxury and heave been available for so little outlay’