Bentley R Type

Infobox Automobile
name =Bentley R Type


manufacturer=Bentley
production =1952–1955
2323 built
predecessor =Mark VI
successor =S series
wheelbase = Auto in|120|0
height = Auto in|64.5|0
width = Auto in|69|0
length = Auto in|200|0
engine =4.6 L straight-6The R Type was the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, replacing the Mark VI.

While the revised car was being developed it was referred to as the Bentley Mark VII. Indeed the chassis cards for these cars describe them as Bentley 7. The R Type name which is now usually applied, stems from chassis series RT. The front of the saloon model was identical to the Mark VI, but the boot (trunk) was almost doubled in size and the engine increased in displacement from 4.25 to 4.5 litres. A decreasing percentage had custom coachwork.

All R Type models used an iron-block/aluminium-head straight-6 engine fed by twin SU Type H6 carburettors. The basic engine displaced 4.6 L (4566 cc/278 in³) with a 92.08 mm (3.6 in) bore and 114.3 mm (4.5 in) stroke. A 4-speed manual transmission was standard with a 4-speed automatic option becoming standard on later cars.

The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs with semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The powerful brakes used Auto in|12.25|0 drums all round and were operated hydraulically at the front and mechanically at the rear via a gearbox driven servo.

A four door saloon with automatic transmission tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1953 had a top speed of convert|101.7|mph|km/h|abbr=on and could accelerate from 0-convert|60|mph|km/h|abbr=on in 13.25 seconds. A fuel consumption of convert|15.5|mpgimp|L/100 km mpgus was recorded. The test car cost £4481 including taxes. cite journal | authorlink = Unsigned |title = The B7 Bentley with automatic transmission| journal =The Motor| volume = | pages = | date = October 14 1953]

R-Type Continental

The early R Type Continental had essentially the same engine as the standard R Type, but after July 1954 was fitted with an engine having a larger bore of 94.62 mm (3.7 in) with a total displacement of 4.9 L (4887 cc/298 in³). The compression ratio was raised to 7.25:1.

The rare two door Continental model with its long flowing tail was produced specially for continental Europe, and was coachbuilt by H. J. Mulliner & Co. This would be the first appearance of the famed Bentley Continental name. The 1952 Continental was the most expensive production automobile in the world, at an extravagant £7,608, the equivalent of 750,000 USD today.

Production numbers

* R Type: 2323 (295 with coachbuilt bodies)cite book |last=King|first=Bernard L|title=Bentley R Type|year=2006 |publisher=Complete Classics |location=Coulsdon, England |id=ISBN 0-9530451-6-1]
* R Type Continental: 207 (plus one prototype)

ee also

* [http://www.retro-cars.net/cat108.htm Bentley Continental Gallery]

References