1989 Bentley Continental - 9,730 Miles

When Rolls-Royce launched the two-door version of the Silver Shadow in 1966, the International ‘Jet Set’ began to clamour for attention at the dealerships. The Drop Head Coupé that followed in 1967 was even more exclusive and waiting lists ran for years. As the Rolls-Royce became somewhat more mainstream, the traditional Bentley owner-driver, those that helped secure Crewe’s future in the post-war era with their expensive and racy coach-built Continentals, were offered little more than a curved grille adorned by a ‘Flying-B’. It’s no surprise, therefore, that Bentley enthusiasts chose the faster and more distinctive Aston Martins, Jensens and Ferraris over the following decades, only tempted back with the launch of the 'new' Bentley Continental R and Azure of the 1990s.

Consequently, the Bentley Convertible was produced in far smaller numbers than its Rolls-Royce equivalent, despite being, arguably, the more handsome of the two. Between 1967 and 1995, production ran to just 570 Bentley soft tops, or a smidgen over 10%, when compared to the 5,678 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertibles sold. As a result, the convertible Bentley is the most sought after of the two in today's market, enjoying favour not just with marque enthusiasts but with those who also appreciate rarity. Although mildly updated, with an unrivalled opulence, these cars were still unashamedly ‘old school’ and whilst other 1980s luxury manufacturers were advocating the benefits of ‘twin airbags', the craftsmen at Crewe were still extolling the convenience of ‘twin cocktail cabinets’.

Dating from 1986 and now re-badged, this fabulous example was one of just 194 Continentals produced. It was originally supplied by Jack Barclay Ltd on 8th August 1989 finished in royal blue with a single gold coach-line, over a Magnolia hide interior piped in dark blue to match the carpeting and over-rugs and fitted with a power hood lined in special-order cloth. Unusually, it was specified with a dashboard-mounted tachometer, factory-fitted from new.

The well stamped service book confirms a Jack Barclay Ltd service on 27th October 1989 at 1,175 miles and following its move to Monaco, multiple services by British Motors of Monte Carlo are recorded between 1990 and 2000 up to 3,489 miles. In 2001, the odometer was changed to kph and records show further British Motors servicing with later stamps at documented kilometre intervals by Rolls-Royce Cars Monaco, stamped as Global Garage Eurl. at 5,750km on 20th February 2009, additionally, copy invoices, headed Bentley Service, on file from Global Garage Eurl., amount to some €7,050 dated 9th June 2010.

Returning to the United Kingdom in 2014, later stamps show additional servicing by marque specialists, West Hoathly Garage Ltd, who serviced the car at 8,458km in 2021. Latterly the service book confirms a service and a documented speedometer change back to mph with the kilometres taken into account, stamped at 9,194 miles, by marque specialists, Ranmore Service and Engineering Ltd, of Surrey on 1st August 2022. The history file contains not just the aforementioned service book, but also the handbooks in the embossed Bentley leather wallet together with Monaco paperwork and invoicing with additional UK maintenance records since 2014. The MOT records from 2014 show an average of 1,000km were added each year until the 2022 change, with less than 500 miles covered since. The most recent, advisory-free certificate was issued in May this year at 9,467 miles.

As expected, the cased toolkit and bulb set are neatly stowed alongside the jack and appear to have never been used and it’s worth noting that the oil filler neck is amongst the cleanest we have ever seen on a 35 year old Crewe-built car. The private UK registration number is not included and the V5C by the time of the auction will likely have the original registration of G508 TYR.

Based on its sibling, the Corniche, named after the 'Moyenne Corniche' top road between Nice and Monaco, it’s fitting that this Bentley spent 25 years cruising gently down that very road. The interior is as one expects of a car of this age and mileage and we note that the door cappings show a few dimples in the lacquer from the occasional skirmish with a slowly retreating seatbelt, as is often found with this era of Bentley and Rolls and is a testament to its originality.

Presented with both door-mounted drinks cabinets still furnished with their cut glass fittings, this is an unrepeatable opportunity to own one of the best examples of a rare production car in classic colours with lovely miles for modern top-down motoring that is classically luxurious.