Many believe that the 1953 Bentley R-Type
Continental Sports Saloon by H.J. Mulliner is the most desirable post-war
Bentley ever built and who can blame them, just look at it. This particular car
is chassis number BC20A, one of the earliest R-Type Continentals and more
specifically the 19th example produced.
Although its chassis number implies that this is the
20th car, Bentley always skipped chassis number 13 for superstitious reasons,
something that the British company continues doing to this day.
This dark green over beige Bentley also comes with
the desirable full spats over the rear wheels, lightweight adjustable seats,
flashing-type indicators with amber glasses, double-filament headlamps with
convex lenses, high-frequency horns with a muting switch, a speedometer in
kilometers and two fog lamps.
The bespoke specification also includes features
like heavier front dampers and a shorter steering gear for better handling, a
high-speed engine fan and a unique radiator for better cooling and a radio.
The car was actually shown at prospective customers
and the press at the 1953 Geneva Motor Show before being delivered in its
original owner in Switzerland. In 1960 it was sold to the owner of a well-known
Rolls-Royce and Bentley restoration facility in the United States before
returning to Europe in 2014, and more specifically to the United Kingdom, where
it received an extensive mechanical service that covered everything from brakes,
suspension, engine, gearbox and clutch for a total cost of more than US$ 50k.
This beautiful 1953 Bentley R-Type Continental
Sports Saloon will be auctioned at RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba event in Lake Como,
Italy, and is expected to fetch more than US$ 1 million.
