1954 Bentley R-Type Fastback Continental by H.J. Mulliner. Guided at £600,000 - £700,000

Silverstone Auctions next sale on May 20th includes this stunning collection of five fabled Bentleys whose provenance includes celebrities and VIP owners with stories to match these cars head turning designs.

Few cars are as instantly recognisable as the R-Type Fastback Continental. Viewed by many as a true collectors’ item, this beautifully presented example was restored by P&A Wood, and is a multiple concours winning example. The R-Type Continental was the first four-seat sports coupé capable of speeds of up to 120mph and the result was a potent continental cruiser or surprisingly docile and manageable city charger.
BC68C is surely one of the finest R-Type Fastback Continentals in existence today and is fitted with the desirable manual gearbox. Primarily maintained by Official Rolls-Royce and Bentley Agents including an engine rebuild in 1984, the Bentley is in drive away condition.

A cosmetic rebuild was undertaken on the car and the quality of this work was such that between 2003 and 2007 the car was entered in a number of Concours d'Elegance events with much success particularly at the Autoglym Regional Concours Events - where it won on each occasion and was invited to the National Grand Finals held at the NEC. The Bentley was also voted Car of the Show at the Maguires Classic Car Show at the Alexandra Palace in 2006. Even at the Annual Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts National Rally at Kellmarsh Hall, surrounded by other restored Rolls-Royce and Bentleys, the R-Type finished either 1st or 2nd in Class in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (Elegance Winner 2008, 2nd in Class overall 2007 & 2009).

Rarely do cars of such importance come to the open market; presented in highly original condition throughout, just 4 owners and 69,000 miles from new. According to the Bentley Continental Register records in this car’s simply remarkable Owner’s File, BC3E was ordered new in April 1955 through selling agents R.C. Wimbush Ltd. in London for its first owner, A.W. Schuster Esq. It was painted Dragonfly Blue, a delightful hue that it continues to wear today with a classic interior trimmed in Beige to Design Number 7277 with many special features including tables to the back of seats, slit pockets and armrests, and James Young-type ashtrays. Externally the car benefits from chrome rim embellishers, family crests on the doors and a chrome badge-bar with five badges. Dating from 1955, it’s an E-Series car fitted with the more powerful 4.9-litre straight-six mated to an automatic gearbox.

The original owner enjoyed the Bentley from 1955 until sold to a friend in January 1982, when he fell ill. During his ownership, the Bentley was serviced regularly by renowned specialists P & A Wood and there are many receipts on file detailing this care and maintenance. In July 1998, Robert Bradfield inherited the car from his father and continued to use P & A Wood for the car’s needs. When it was advertised for sale sometime later by P & A Wood, the advert noted its excellent, original condition throughout and confirmed that it is one of the last made, completely original and unrestored with low mileage and excellent history.

Renowned Bentley R-Type Continental specialists, Lawton Investments, sold the Bentley to Dr James Hull in February 2011, where it formed part of his extensive private collection prior to joining our vendors substantial Collection in 2014.

Delivered new to The Earl of Sefton, this stunning R-Type is bodied by E.D. Abbott of Farnham, Surrey in 'Continental' style. Only a handful of such were constructed, offering stunning styling for a fraction of the cost of the celebrated Fastback Continental. Estimate £80,000 to £100,000.

This was the first of the Abbott-bodied cars and one can only imagine the sort of attention the 'swoopy' Continental bodywork would have generated back in 1954, matched only by the sort of admiration it would garner in 2023.

The standard R-Type was a lively performer, achieving 106mph in silence and reached 50mph from standstill in 10 seconds despite a curb weight approaching two tons.
As usual, the R-Type could be ordered in chassis form for bodying by specialist coachbuilders and this manual transmission example was the work of E.D. Abbott of Farnham, Surrey. The stylish, streamlined Continental-style fastback coupé coachwork, designed by Abbott's stylist Peter Woodgate, had been intended for the superseded MkVI chassis and bore more than a passing resemblance to H J Mulliner's contemporary Bentley Continental. After two prototypes had been completed, Abbott bodied 14 'production' cars, that offered here being the first. Of the remaining 13, one was fitted with automatic transmission and one was built with left-hand drive.
OYE 700 is accompanied by a fascinating history file which contains a list of previous owners which confirm that the car’s first owner was indeed the Rt. Hon. Earl of Sefton at Croxteth Hall. The history file also contains a number of old V5s, a dozen older MOTs, lots of correspondence, the original ‘buff’ logbook, its R Type Bentley Handbook, an article by Bill Medcalf entitled “R-Type Continentals and a booklet called ‘Twenty Years of Crewe Bentleys’ and a letter from Bentley confirming that they would like OYE 700 to be displayed at the factory as part of ‘The Bentley Experience’.
The current indicated mileage is 50,893 meaning that the car has only covered just over 300 miles in the last dozen years, however, having been in two prominent collections this is not surprising. It has been looked after, undoubtedly, and presents supremely with gleaming paintwork and a gently patinated interior with beige leather, excellent veneers and an unmarked Mulliner headlining.

Believed to be one of only two H.J. Mulliner Drophead Coupés, this late production example was first delivered to the BSA Chairman Sir Bernard Docker. Sporting a delightful patina, the Bentley retains its original interior. This car comes trailing glamour and controversy in equal parts. There cannot be a society event anywhere in Europe that this Bentley hasn't attended.

The 1959 Bentley S1 (Series 1 is one of only two convertibles styled to Body Design No.7492 and built by H.J.Mulliner of Chiswick. It was sold new to Sir Bernard Docker, Chairman of BSA and dozens of other companies for his controversial wife, Lady Norah Docker, who was never out of the tabloids in the 1950s. She married three millionaire husbands in quick succession and drove gold plated Daimlers - Sir Bernard was also the Chairman of Daimler! The couple owned the biggest yacht in the Mediterranean, but this did not prevent Prince Rainier of Monaco from expelling them from the Principality. In the end Lady Norah Docker bankrupted Sir Bernard.

The car's second owner, Maureen Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava - originally Maureen Guinness, heir to the brewing family, friends with the Royal Family and the original society "It Girl" as christened by the press - was equally newspaper worthy. She was a blonde pre-war beauty, who dated celebrities and the aristocracy, was photographed for Vogue by Cecil Beaton and was the inspiration for Osbert Lancaster's cartoon character, Maudie Littlehampton. She too had three husbands and kept her first husbands title, the Fourth Marquess of Dufferin. She owned this Bentley from late 1960 until 1985 and passed away in 1998.

This is a very rare car that's covered less than 50,000 miles and has been in two collections since 2011.

This H.J. Mulliner Two-Door Continental Coupé was restored by P&A Wood in 1990 and remains in beautiful condition. One of only eight S3 Continentals by HJM, this is a rare car, in decent order, with a gorgeous interior and clothed in a coat of Pine Green so deep that you feel you could dive in. It’s a time capsule on wheels, a wonderful example of how brilliant British coachbuilding could be when talented young designers at James Young, Hooper, Park Ward, and Mulliners were given a box of sharp pencils and a free hand.

The Series 3 is perhaps the ultimate post-war Bentley in terms of appearance, performance and practicality, as well as the last medium sized Bentley to be offered with custom coachwork and H J Mulliner of Chiswick were responsible for some of the most iconic and beautiful coachwork designs on post-war Bentley chassis, especially the Continental variants.

Chassis number BC88XA is one of the original eight right-hand drive cars and is recorded as having been completed on 22nd February 1963 and supplied new by H.R. Owen of Mayfair to its first proud owner after being registered and taxed on 1st of March, 1963. It’s finished in a glorious shade of Pine Green with a single gold coach line over a magnificent tan leather interior.