This 1954 Bentley R-Type Saloon is a right-hand drive model that was originally delivered in England and has been with the previous owner for 48 years. The car is powered a 4.6L inline-six paired with an automatic transmission, and its ownership history is known back to new. The car remained with the original owner was lawyer in England. The second owner was the mayor of London and head of the Savoy group until 1976 when it was sold to the US Air Force piolet stationed in the UK. The following year was shipped to the US. I bought the car from him in 2024 and had it shipped from Olympia Washington. I drive the car regularly without issue..
This car was finished entirely in Tudor grey when new. The previous owners repainted the car in its two-tone grey over silver scheme. Earlier R-Types had a smaller trunk than this car, and as a response Bentley lengthened the chassis and bodywork by 8″ aft of the rear wheels, preserving the wheelbase while offering improved cargo space. In total 2320 R-Types were produced over their production run.
The winged B emblem has the correct squared profile for this generation of Bentley saloon.
The car is equipped with functional semaphores that extend from the pillars between the doors.
The interior has the original leather and has a lovely patina. The original toolkit is fitted beneath the driver’s seat.
The dash wood shows a nice burl and a good finish. The instruments are all work including the AM/SW RCA radio. The original owner’s manual has been retained in its appropriate slot below the glovebox.
The manually activated sunroof works perfectly.
The 4.6L inline-six has 76,000 miles and has never been removed or rebuilt.
The enlarged trunk is fully carpeted, and the original spare, jack, and lug wrench are all still present and accounted for.
Steel 16″ wheels feature black Bentley-branded hubcaps and wear 185R Michelin Radial tires. A spare is located in the rear storage compartment. Stopping power is handled by hydraulically operated four-wheel drums with a cabin-mounted dual master cylinder fitted for the rear brakes. The car rides on front coil springs and semi-elliptical rear left springs. The leaf-spring gators, rear shocks, rear drum brakes, and parking brake linkage, as well as flushing the brake fluid.
This car is equipped with a center-mounted driving light, fog lamps, a chrome grille and hood ornament, trafficators, rear-hinged front doors, and dual fender-mounted mirrors. All chrome is original and in excellent condition.
Burl wood trim was refinished in the UK, and additional amenities include a manually-operated sunroof, an AM radio, a silk rear window shade, rear picnic tables and footrests, and crank windows.
- Chassis: B37YA
- Body: 7237
- Engine: B18Y
- UK License Plate Number: DTS 689
