2001 Bentley Continental R Mulliner Wide Body

• Just 63 right-hand drive Continental R Mulliners were built out of a total production of 148 cars
• Believed to be the only example finished in Sequin Blue, the black leather interior is complemented by a turned aluminium dashboard with a subtle tint
• The history file incudes factory build-sheets and the car was serviced and MOT'd at Bentley Bristol in December 2020
• Suppled to auction with an odometer reading of some 38,500 miles (atoc) and blue lambswool over-rugs
• Very few Bentleys have been registered as “1 WO” when new as this car was to Bentley Motors on 29/11/2001
• With regular fair weather use of his Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible and the purchase of a new Bentley GT this delightful car is regretfully offered to auction by our enthusiast vendor

Introduced in 1991, the Continental ‘R’ was the first Bentley in 26 years to not share a body style with a concurrent Rolls-Royce and was inspired by the highly collectable Continental R-Type of the 1950s. The elegant two-door coachwork was styled by John Heffernan and Ken Greenley, a duo whose résumé included sports cars like the Aston Martin Virage. Five years later Bentley introduced a short-wheelbase version dubbed the Continental ‘T’ that was equipped with an uprated engine developing 420bhp and an impressive 650 foot-pounds of torque available at only 2,200 rpm. 

Bentley customers soon expressed interest in equipping the “wide-body” Continental R model with the T’s more powerful engine, and the Continental R Mulliner was consequently introduced at the 1999 Geneva Salon. The nomenclature was an homage to H.J. Mulliner, the British coachbuilder responsible for the original R-Type’s breath-taking fastback bodywork. The R Mulliner’s wide-body configuration offered spacious interior elegance, whilst the twin-turbocharged V8 could rocket the car to a top speed of nearly 170 mph, with brisk 5.6-second sprints to 60 mph from standstill. Individually tailored to customer order, the R Mulliner was Bentley’s ultimate 20th-century combination of luxury and performance, produced in a modest total quantity of 148 cars with 63 in right-hand drive. 

It's understood that this very handsome motor car is the only example produced in Sequin Blue, a shade of blue that represents modernity without vulgarity and a colour chosen perhaps deliberately by Bentley to represent their vision for the new millennium. It was first registered to Bentley Motors on the 29th November 2001 with the famous “1 WO” prefix, reserved for important launch or continuation cars and used for media purposes. Very few Bentleys over the years have been registered with “1 WO” and as the initials are those of founder Walter Owen Bentley, it is as good as an autograph in establishing any car thus-registered on the 102-year old Bentley family tree.  

Complementing the rare shade of blue is the tinted turned-aluminium dashboard and inserts so very rarely seen in this model. The turned-aluminium dashboard has always been a feature of the sportier Bentleys, a nod to the 1930s racing Blowers, but can seem severe and industrial by today’s standards, this car’s subtle tint is both discreet and stylish, perfectly matched to the black leather seats and blue lambs wool rugs. After an exhaustive search for the 'right' Wide Body, our vendor, a lifelong Rolls and Bentley enthusiast, bought this car in July 2018, stabled initially alongside a very fine Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertible. However, since the recent purchase of a new Bentley GT and using the Corniche for fair weather motoring the reluctant decision has been made to offer the “Conti” for the next enthusiast to enjoy.  

The car’s service record shows a majority of Bentley main dealer services and the most recent service was carried out by Bentley Bristol on 10th December 2020. Bentley Bristol issued the MOT Certificate which is valid until January 2022. The history file includes handbooks, receipts, RREC-supplied build-sheets and a copy of Car Magazine 2001 where the Bentley was reviewed by comedian Alexei Sayle. The odometer reading, at the time of cataloguing, is some 38,500 and it is the vendor’s intention to drive the car to the auction as one last hurrah.