We sample what was once the world’s fastest four-seater production saloon, the Bentley R-Type Continental.
Stepping out of a Bentley Flying Spur recently, I was struck by the thought that whatever you might think about the automotive choices of Premier League footballers, the Volkswagen Group has done a pretty effective job of returning Bentley to the spirit of its glory years.
The modern-day Spur is simply unique, its W12 engine providing a savage thrust the equal of pretty much no other large saloon, yet all delivered with impossible levels of refinement which makes you wonder why anybody would ever bother with a cramped, impractical supercar.
The general complexity of the modern cars may be light years away from the marque’s 1950s cars but there is a parallel between the modern-day Spur and the Bentley R-Type Continental we have here, since at launch it was quite simply the fastest four-seater luxury saloon in the world.
Basis of the car was, unsurprisingly, the R-Type which was essentially a facelifted version of the MkVI, itself the first new postwar Bentley model and the first to be factory-supplied with a standard body style rather than supplied as a chassis to be bodied by the buyer’s chosen coachbuilder.
The evolution from MkVI to MkVII (the R-Type’s original internal name) was little more than a facelift, the most notable feature of which was an enlarged boot. Indeed, the front end was all but identical to the later MkVI.
The R-Type was powered by the same alloy-headed straight-six found in the later MkVI cars, which meant 4566cc and 130bhp and in standard steel-bodied form made it a sprightly car by the standards of the day. An ‘F-head’ design, this used overhead inlet valves but sidevalve exhausts.
Tech Spec: Bentley R-Type Continental
Engine: 4566cc I6
Power: 153bhp @ 4,000rpm
0-60mph: 13.8 seconds
Top speed: 117mph
Economy: 25mpg
Length: 5.2m
Width: 1.8m
Weight: 1700kg
