1997 Bentley Turbo R

With a whopping purchase price of £126,251.87 (and that’s with 12% discount!) this Bentley Turbo R hails from March 1997. As such this is an example from the last year of Turbo R production and post the 1996 facelift. For this a host of fairly subtle updates were supplemental to the headlines of the new Zytek fuel injection and the long wheelbase configuration (amounting to an extra 10cm) now becoming standard.

This Turbo R was supplied new by dealers Ron Stratton of Knutsford, Cheshire to the first privileged owner. A further four owners followed between then and April 2012. The previous and sixth keeper acquired the Turbo R at that stage from Bentley specialists Hanwells of London. This time a comparatively modest £19,250 changed hands with 80,760 miles having been waftingly dispatched.

Current owner, Rod, became the seventh keeper, courtesy of Hanwells again, in July 2020. The odometer was now reading 101,059 miles. On the day of our shoot this had progressed to 113,492 equating to around 3,000 miles a year on average under Rod’s diligent stewardship.

The combination of this car’s striking Royal Blue metallic paintwork, the sleek looking long wheelbase configuration and the numerous colour coded accoutrements makes it a real head turner. The car’s finish is testament to Bentley’s hand preparation of the body shell before it begins its journey through a multi-stage paint process. This seems to have paid dividends here, with a high metallic flake content still evident and the lustre remaining impressive for the Bentley’s age and mileage.

Inevitably enough, however, there are a few minor scrapes and marks, and our photographer has endeavoured to capture these for your review, here. Overall, it’s impressively turned out with all the requisite Turbo R and red, flying B badging present and correct. Cabin glass and light lenses front and rear look to be in fine fettle and original.

The post ’96 facelifted cars, like this one, were in receipt of a new set of wheels, simply described in Bentley’s publicity materials as “new, sports style aluminium wheels.” These 7.5J x 17-inch items followed the Bentley trend of the period of fitting modest sized wheels and compensating with a prodigious amount of tyre sidewall. This greatly aided ride comfort with the added benefit of keeping the alloys better protected from kerbs and the like. Whilst not immaculate the wheels are in good condition and those 55-profile donuts of rubber really suit the demeanour of the Turbo R.

The Turbo R’s cabin strikes an interesting transitional phase between the Rolls-Royce-esque “private members club” aesthetic and the overtly sports orientated interiors of Bentleys yet to come. Much of the former was lifted from the Bentley’s Silver Spirit cousin but the latter was starting to take differentiating shape. Where the Rolls-Royce had an outside temperature gauge and small clock, the Bentley had a full set of five metric-monitoring gauges. A rev counter was now fitted, something deemed unnecessary on the significantly less potent Rolls. A well resolved and more enveloping centre console now sprouted from the fascia providing a home to the more sports orientated gear selector. A replacement for the traditional column mounted one in the Rolls. Whilst it seemed initially akin to seeing King Charles in a pair of white Nike Air Max trainers, it was actually tastefully managed.

The rest of the cabin is a heady mix of prestigious hues, textures, substrates and, most likely, fragrances. The predominant shade is that of the Sandstone hued Connolly leather. This combines with Royal /Dark Blue accents in the form of the carpets, seat piping and dashboard top roll leather. The Sandstone hide headlining, and the burr walnut veneers combine to leave you in no doubt as to this car’s heritage and lineage.

Bentley reworked the big tombstone-backed Rolls-Royce seats into more slender, shapely and supportive items, too, encouraging the driver to fully test the effectiveness of that panhard rod. These are stitched into a series of horizontal box pleats to their centre sections, maximising comfort and support. Full electrical adjustment goes without saying as does two stage heating and a four-setting memory function for both seats. There is a charming level of patina to the front seats with the driver’s side edge of the centre armrest exhibiting the most wear. The identically trimmed rear cabin consists of two individual outer seats with the large centre arm rest folding away to provide a third, occasional place. In charming Bentley parlance “twin Duchess handles and rear-quarter companion mirrors” are also noted. The long-wheelbase nature of the car allows more than ample leg room and more space for the sublime Dark Blue coloured, leather edge bound Wilton carpets.

There are a couple of minor battle scars noted in here in addition to the aforementioned armrest. The top roll leather has come adrift around the demister vents, the door surround leather on the drivers side has also come detached and an area of the driver’s footwell carpet has become a little threadbare. The commodious boot is exquisitely trimmed in Sandstone leather edge bound Dark Blue carpeting. This is also home to the full-sized spare wheel, jack and tool kit.

By 1997 Bentley had foregone their earlier quirk of keeping their engines’ power outputs a mysterious secret. Perhaps it was because they had something to be proud of once more. In this application the redoubtable 6.75-litre L-series V8 boasted a liquid-cooled charged air cooler to maximise the effect of that big turbo. The result was a quoted 385bhp at 4,000 rpm and a mighty 553 Ib-ft of torque between 2,000 and 3,500 rpm. The four-speed GM-sourced automatic gearbox fed power to the rear wheels delivering a sub 7-second 0-60mph time and a 150mph top speed.

Whilst a spirit of openness now prevailed when it came to the engine’s output, the venerable L-Series of 1997 was starting to hide its physical light under a black plastic bushel. The dreaded engine cover had encroached upon the Turbo R’s engine-room, with just some embossed and polished alloy sections remaining visible. The condition of this compartment is very good, however, with all the expected data imparting plates present and correct. There’s a little surface corrosion present on some of the underside’s componentry but it is clean and straight overall and belies the age and mileage of the Bentley.

This Turbo R’s file of paperwork is a generous to a fault with nearly 100 images in our photographic record. The V5 registration document is present. As is the current MoT which is valid until July 2025. Numerous earlier MoTs in hard copy are on hand, also.

The service book is present and contains 19 stamps covering mileages from 894 to 101,059 and dates from May 1997 to June 2020. These are all at the skilled hands of either main dealers or recognised specialists. Numerous invoices are present providing the detail behind these stamps. Invoices of note include the 2015 Hanwells invoice detailing the head gasket replacement at 92,864 miles and a number from the last couple of years. The Bentley factory build records, of which there are several, make for particularly interesting reading.

Whilst it could be argued that the Mulsanne Turbo represents the event horizon of Bentley’s escape from Rolls-Royce’s confining patronage, the Turbo R is a markedly more rounded package. Those suspension tweaks now meant that all that extra urge could be deployed more effectively, in more conditions and more of the time. At last Bentley could once again showcase the sporting prowess on which the esteemed marque was built.

This example of the species is a delightfully honest and eminently useable package. It’s not a concours winner and probably the better for it. Its condition is very good, nonetheless, and it has clearly wanted for nothing in terms of maintenance and care. These sublime cars won’t continue to offer their current astounding level of value for money in perpetuity, either. So bid today and avoid the lingering regret.

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £8,000 - £12,000.

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 Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.