It was delivered on the 12th of May 1953 by a dealer in Sloane Square, at which point it was Shell Grey with red upholstery. It was reportedly still in good condition (and two-tone grey) some twenty years later when it was in the custody of Brian Redman, one of the most successful racing drivers of his time.

Redman competed in seven seasons of Formula 1 but it was in sports car racing that he had his best results, winning every major endurance race from Daytona to the Targa Florio, plus two class wins at Le Mans in Porsche 935s. It’s fun to think of him stepping out of a 200mph sports-prototype and gliding home in more relaxed style…

A document in the car’s history folder records the sale of the car from Brian Redman Racing to Carl Haas Auto Imports, probably in 1974, which must be when the car crossed the pond. Carl Haas had a racing career behind him by then and was forging a second one as a race team owner, going on to win 11 championships over three decades. He was based in Illinois, which is where this car seems to have remained (in the hands of a couple of different owners) until sometime after 2012.

We don’t have details of its re-importation but it was with a Scottish dealer in 2016, from which time there is a receipt for attention to bodywork and a re-paint in blue. Crucially, someone managed to re-secure the car’s original number plate, NXH 77, which it wears now.

There is a V5C present in the owner’s name and many older bills for work performed during the car’s long holiday in America, plus the original handbook, works specification cards, construction and test records and a leather wallet for the keys.

All in all, an interesting file.

1953 Bentley R-Type

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