1997 Bentley Turbo RL

Pubs up and down the country are filled with drawn and broken-looking individuals weeping salty tears of regret into their drinks.

These are often people who have bought a ‘cheap’ Bentley only to find that it steals their wallet, beats them up and makes them homeless within 6 months.

Either way, and as ever, it’s a case of caveat emptor.

Well, we don’t think you need to be remotely fearful of this one.

It ticks all the right boxes for provenance, condition and history and it’s a delight to behold and, we’re reliably assured, to drive.

Today the car is showing just 21,800 miles on the odometer, which basically means that it’s barely cleared its throat or got past the running-in phase.

The mileage was recorded as being 16,784 in 2006 so, as you can no doubt discern, it really hasn’t been used very much.

The car has lived in Scotland as part of a family collection since, we think, around 2008.

The current vendor tells us that it starts on the button, displays no engine or other warning lights, and goes about its stately, powerful, imposing business with all the capability and assuredness for which the marque and this particular model were rightly famed.

The bodywork is uniformly straight and true, and there are no dimples, dinks or dents of any consequence anywhere that we can see.

The panel gaps and shut-lines are crisp, consistent, even and everything you would want and expect of a vehicle of this quality.

The rather striking Peacock Blue Metallic paint is in decent order, too, and aside from a couple of short scratches and a few stone chips around the badging atop the front grille, some scuffs on the wing mirror housings and the odd stone chip on the doors and flanks of the car, even mostly standard scratches and blemishes are rather more noticeable for their absence than their presence on a car of this age.

We noticed some flaking in the sill beneath the Bentley badge on the offside front wing, a little bubbling in the front wheel arch on the same side and a patch of rough paint and nascent blistering below the Bentley badge on the nearside front wing.

The 17” alloy wheels are seemingly unacquainted with kerbs or other roadside hazards, but the tyres may be a little long in the tooth and are showing some crazing and cracking in the side-walls.

The chrome trim is fine all round, as are the lights, lenses, badging and all other exterior fixtures and fittings, as far as we can tell.

The interior, you won’t be shocked to learn, is following the same script as its exterior counterpart in terms of quality and condition.

Very few manufacturers can hold a candle to Bentley when it comes to opulent, indulgent interiors, and this car’s cabin is a particularly elegant example of the craft skills deployed by Bentley’s finest saddlers, French polishers and trimmers.

The Parchment with Blue piping leather upholstery is in very fine condition and is only exhibiting creases and evidence of wear that are entirely commensurate with its paltry mileage rather than its age.

The seats, front and back, are in excellent order and are, we’re told, fully possessed of all the functionality with which they left the factory.

At some point during the car’s life the lambswool over-rugs have gone AWOL but, fear not, the underlying carpets and mats are in first-class condition.

The headlining has recently been re-done (a tendency to droop over the years often blights the longer wheel-based variants) and is taut, clean and suitably handsome.

The door cards are equally good, as are the hide-covered knee-roll and dashboard top.

The wood veneers and inlays on the dashboard, centre console, front door cappings and other inserts have held up well, although some lacquer has faded from the door cappings in the rear.

All dials, instruments, levers and controls look good to us and, as far as we’re aware, everything does what it’s supposed to do, including the ice-cold air-conditioning and the original Alpine radio/cassette/CD multi-changer unit.

The boot is as impressive as the rest of it and contains a spare wheel and what we believe to be the original, complete tool-kit.

There’s not much to see under the cowls and covers in the very full engine bay, but rest assured that underneath them resides a huge beast of a unit that’s barely broken into a sweat during the course of its long but quiet and decidedly pampered life.

The car’s undersides look to be possessed of plenty of integrity, some non-structural rust spots aside, and nothing we’ve seen has given us any cause to shake our heads or tut.

The vendor tells us that the fan belt might require a tiny adjustment to get rid of a faint squeak. We’re pretty sure that won’t be a game-changer.

Purchased new from Reg Vardy, the car has a full service history with both main agents and specialists, as evidenced by an original service book that’s bristling with stamps.

Reg Vardy took care of the first two services in ’98 and 2000, by which point the car had covered 3,052 miles.

The next three services came courtesy of Lancaster Bentley of Colchester, with the ’03 mileage recorded as 11,028.

The car next went to live in Henley, where Hofmann’s took over the servicing duties, before taking up residence in Scotland. Once there, marque specialists Alastair Scott looked after it.

There are invoices, bills and receipts aplenty for routine servicing and maintenance carried out.

The car comes with a recent, clear HPI report, two sets of keys, its original manuals and handbooks, and an MoT certificate – with no advisories – that’s valid until 11th July 2025.

Get a genuinely good Bentley Turbo R and you’re getting a great deal of very capable and classy car for your money.

Powerful, refined and fast even by today’s standards, this is a car that’ll give you a sense of occasion every time you see it, sit in it or take it for a waft.

This one has the right history, the right condition and an extremely low mileage.

What’s not to like?

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £18,000 - £23,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Harrow, London. To arrange an appointment to inspect this vehicle, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.