1954 Bentley R Type Continental 14.000 miles since frame off restoration Quintessential is an often used word, especially with Classic Cars, quite often misused. I think on this occasion the use of quintessential correctly describes the 'R' Type Continental We've had a few of them over the years - that's not bragging, it's what we do as dealers in delightful Classics We haven't had loads of them either, I suppose as having made only 208, you can't have many - the model was the brainchild of Chief Projects Engineer Ivan Evernden and Chief Stylist John Blatchley Most of which were the elegant fastback design built by H J MUlliner, 'cos it was the prettiest of the bodies available, by far In fact 192 were made to this design (7277 design number actually) Having said that, and not to upset those we have previously had, this is by the far the 'stand-out in the crowd version' Bought privately in March 2004 from a US toy magnate, who had purchased the car from the late Charles Howard in 1971. Exported to his estate in East Hampton, NY, it resided with the rest of his collection of cars and boats In 2004, after over 30 years of ownership, his decided to sell this now-ageing and under-used Bentley Our great friend flew over to NY and drove straight to East Hampton where he viewed and drove the car shown by the vendor's man. The following day he went to meet the vendor himself in NYC and a deal was struck – on the 50th anniversary of the day it was originally invoiced by Jack Barclay Ltd - blimey !! The car was subsequently shipped to London, where we took it into our custody, and the long process of restoration began, a little over 2 years to be precise Everything was there, but she was the antithesis of 'stand-out' Extras were considered over various dinners & lunches and final specification needed to be:- Front sports style seats plus the original comfort seats Spats with Mavrolian wavelets Spear door handles to mirror the spats wavelet Sundym glass Discreetly installed air conditioning Sunburst walnut veneers (normally only offered to Phantom VI models) All leather to be purchased from Spinney Beck in the USA Uprated suspension Period radio in fascia with hidden modern unit under with 4 topnotch, and hidden speakers Electric windows using 60's Continental window switch escutchens Larger Cross Ply tyres Original Continental badge to boot GB letters to boot Inertial real seat belts front & back Padgett twin exhaust system with free flow manifolds Wrapped manifolds ……. oh yes, a one off colour which we were to produce in collaboration with the owner Everything was new or rebuilt, from steering wheel through to gear box, rear axle & engine and everything in between - you name it, we did it ! So that is what you see now in our wonderful images (I say wonderful to acknowledge the time taken to take them by a young photographer) She came to us in 2002 and she was ready for her for first trip to France 18 months later, with 500 running-miles under her belt before our excited chum sped-off for the trip of a life time He called me rather excitedly from the queue for the Eurotunnel, to announce he 'got her up to 110mph and there was plenty left in the tank' In France the speedo nudged 120 - some the road users must have been aghast with this 50 year old vision, blasting past them Many other tours were completed over the years, on most of which she was transported down to the event, hence the low mileage of under 14.000 since the restoration by us In fact, we have stored her, serviced her and basically looked after her since she was finished in 2003 She has been to France on various occasions, Switzerland, Italy and also Scotland She sounds amazing with the 4:9 litre engine, larger carburettors and sports exhaust The suspension is very compliant even with the updated units fitted, whilst driving in a spirited fashion allows her to be hustled along with gusto The interior is a place to behold, the Spinney Beck leather is still soft & supple, the Sunburst veneers unblemished and all switch-gear working as new It's a breeze at an auto-toll with the electric windows too - a very good idea All R Types look fabulous, however, BC30C in the special Oxford Blue with a splash of black in the mixture, with the Mavrolian Wavelet Spats with the matching Spear door handles, cuts a dash anywhere you go, South of France, Geneve, Italian Riviera or even Central London In fact, she really does “stand-out in the crowd'