1993 Bentley Continental R Coupe

The Bentley name is one of the most famous and revered in the automotive community. It has a long tradition of building quality, elegant, exclusive, and competitive vehicles. But by the close of the 1970s, Bentley accounted for just 3% of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' production. Certainly, they were on the brink of extinction. A campaign was begun to re-establish Bentley's credentials as the purveyor of high-performance luxury cars and to rekindle the memories of the company's glorious past achievements at LeMans. One strategy which would prove very successful was to use the name 'Mulsanne' for the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit's counterpart. It was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 1982, and immediately the Mulsanne Turbo received headlines from the motoring press as the return of the 'Blower Bentley.'

At the Geneva Show in 1985, Bentley introduced the 'Project 90', a mocked-up coupe intended to gauge the public response to a high-performance car unique to Bentley. Up to this point, Bentley's resurgence during the 1980s had relied exclusively on models whose basic architecture was shared with other Rolls-Royce products. Six-years later, the Bentley Continental R made its debut. Styling was attributed to the assistance of consultants John Heffernan and Ken Greenley at Worthing-based International Automotive Design. The use of computers and wind tunnel testing had shaped the final product into a sleekly streamlined shape. It was given non-traditional features such as doors recessed into the roof. Inside, the Bentley was given a gearbox. It also came equipped with a four-speed automatic with an 'overdrive' top radio; another new addition to the Bentley. Underneath the bonnet was a turbocharged engine offering 325 horsepower. Zero-to-sixty took less than seven seconds with top speed being achieved around 150 mph.

This example was previously owned by John H. Sweeney, former Executive Director of the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline, Massachusetts. It was previously titled in Florida, New Mexico and Texas. It was acquired by Sweeney in 2007. Currently, the car has approximately 26,000 miles on the odometer.

In 2013, the car was offered for sale at Bonhams Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $35,650 including buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2013