1994 Bentley Continental RS

Bentley hand-built just 1,335 Continental Rs. 

Of that number, a tiny handful were earmarked for Middle Eastern buyers and were supplied sans catalytic converters in order to unleash a few extra horses.

This is one of those cars, which makes it vanishingly rare.

But what makes it even rarer is the utterly unique (as far as we’re aware) ‘RS’ badging and designation of this vehicle.

Quite what this mysterious badging signifies in terms of performance, options or trim variations, we can’t be sure. 

You are, of course, free to do your own digging around in Bentley’s archives and owners’ club registers.

We believe it was a Bentley special order vehicle and ordered on behalf of a member of a Middle Eastern royal family through a Dubai Bentley dealership.

The car has had three owners from new.

The odometer reads 44,927kms and the car is in very decent overall condition, save for one obvious but relatively minor issue – some damage to the front of the car around the grille and the bumper assembly.

This occurred when the car was being off-loaded and accidentally rolled (very gently and slowly) into a door. The vendor has applied some protective paint to the area as a temporary measure to keep any potential rust from getting in where the paint seal was broken.

We can’t imagine that the corrective work would be much of a challenge for a skilled bodywork professional.

The car starts and runs, but would benefit from a good service and a decent clearing of its voluminous lungs in order to get back into its full mechanical stride. 

As we haven’t driven the car, our appraisal of it is entirely based on its provenance and cosmetic appearance.

The car’s elegant, rakish bodywork is in very reasonable condition, aside from the aforementioned issue with the ‘nose’ of the car, as is the vast expanse of cream paintwork.

There are one or two light scuffs and scratches in the usual places, but even entirely standard stone and paint chips are rather more noticeable for their absence than their presence. 

The door shuts and panel gaps are everything you would hope and expect to find on a car of this quality and cost (they were nearly £200,000 new).

The accompanying build sheet tells us that the car was originally Wildberry Mica in colour, but we believe it has been repainted at least once more between then and now. 

This is not unusual with Middle Eastern cars, where the blistering temperatures often dictate that white, cream and other light shades are a little easier to live with. 

The wheels look to us to be in decent condition, as do the lights, lenses, ‘RS’ badging and all other exterior fixtures and fittings.

The interior, wholly unsurprisingly, is in much the same good condition as the rest of this low mileage car.

The cream leather upholstery is really pretty decent overall, both front and back, although there are some creases to the outer bolsters on the driver’s seat squab and back rest, and there are some nicks and scuffs at the leading edge of the seat squab on the passenger side.

The carpets in the front footwells have been attacked by moths and their offspring. 

They are rather better elsewhere.

The headlining is fine.

The wood veneers are OK, but their protective lacquer has cracked in a few places on the dashboard, centre console and door cappings.

We can’t make any claims about the full functionality of switches, knobs, levers, toggles, buttons, dials or other electrics as we haven’t driven the car. 

The boot is in very reasonable order and contains the car’s original tools and books.

The car was given a full mechanical shake-down and refresh by marque specialists Clark & Carter in June 2023 after having been in storage as part of a private collection for a few years. 

As stated earlier, the car starts and runs but is currently sounding less than optimally tuned, as you’ll hear in the accompanying video. 

Some light recommissioning might well be the order of the day.

The clean, dry engine and engine bay look fine and the undersides of the car appear to have a reasonable amount of structural integrity, as far as we can tell. 

Nothing we’ve seen has given us any cause to shake our heads or tut.

This car comes with no history and no service records, aside from an invoice for £2,657.28 for work carried out in 2023 by respected Bentley specialists Clark & Carter of Essex.

It comes with a V5C UK registration document.

Most people (who know what they’re talking about) will agree that a Bentley Continental R is a very special, very capable car.

But if you’re one of that rare breed of buyers who consider the standard ‘R’ to be a bit too ubiquitous, too quotidian, too common, then this quite possibly unique ‘RS’ iteration could be just the thing for you.

One thing’s certain - there’s almost no chance whatsoever that you’ll ever find yourself parked next to another one.

We’re confident to offer this car for auction with an estimate of £20,000 - £30,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.