Background
The Continental R is the number one Bentley – whether it’s your favourite or not, it marked a series of firsts for the Crewe based firm. The most expensive Bentley to date. The most powerful, and the fastest. The first to have a gear selector on the transmission tunnel, and without doubt the most successful.
Building on the success of the Mulsanne Turbo, 1991’s Continental R was revealed at that year’s Geneva show, which it then pocketed, much to the annoyance of Mercedes, who fully expected its new W140 S Class to be the star.
But although the bodywork was all new, the new model’s underpinnings were similar to the Turbo R, and the 325bhp L Series V8 remained at the heart of the matter. However, the new car used a new four-speed electronically controlled gearbox from GM.
With 450lb-ft of torque available between 2000 and 4000rpm, the car could accelerate to 60mph in just 6.6 seconds, despite weighing in at a hefty 2420kg, and would happily chase S Class Mercs all the way up to 145mph on the autobahn. All this for just £178,000 at launch.
By 1994 that ticket had climbed to slightly more than £180,000, but power and torque also went up, the latter to an oak felling 500lb-ft. This was achieved with help from Cosworth, who reworked the V8’s cylinder heads to great effect. In the same year the wheels increased in diameter to 17 inches with a new seven spoke design appearing.
In 1996 the Continental R got a long list of revisions, the most notable of which was a new standard fitment of the charge cooler. At the same time a Zytek engine management system took over from the previous Bosch unit, which gave the car improved throttle response and even managed a slight increase in fuel efficiency.
Power – for the first time officially quoted by Bentley – rose to 385bhp and torque to 550lb-ft, another first for the Continental R as this was more than any other production car at the time. We’re guessing this is why the policy of performance non-disclosure came to an end.
The sprint to 60mph was now achieved in fewer than six seconds, and top speed exceeded that of German machinery by five miles an hour, which was limited to 150mph. New 17 inch alloy wheels helped justify the list price of more than £187,000, as did a new tilt adjustable steering column.
In 1998 traction control became standard (thank goodness) and the front seats from the Azure convertible version now went into the fixed head too – easily spotted as the seat belt is an integral part of the seat itself. These cars also have small mesh grilles below the headlights, a laser cut mesh radiator grille as standard and small tweaks to the front and rear bumpers. In the same year Bentley built just six Continental R California Editions, with wide bodies and 420bhp engines.
A year later the Continental R Mulliner model range appeared, with a wider body, bigger wheels and a Continental T spec engine, allowing the full sized coupé to get to 60mph in just 5.6 seconds.
Between 1999 and the last cars built in 2003, Bentley offered various special models via its Personal Commission programme, including the Le Mans, Continental R 420 and Millennium. 194 of these special editions were fitted with a 420bhp engine.
The Continental R finally ended production in 2003, the last Bentley based on the Rolls Royce Silver Spirit platform, and the end of an era in many ways.
