76 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 7 AUGUST 2019
Bentley Turbo R looks like
2.5 tonnes of expensive
trouble you’d be mad to
consider buying except
that, bought well, you’re looking at
an investment whose running costs
aren’t as painful as you might think.
How about £420 for the 6000-mile
service, £800 for the 12,000 and
£1280 for the 24,000? Much more
than a Ford Focus admittedly, but the
R is a special car and a complicated
beast that needs the regular attention
of an expert technician.
“If it’s been well maintained, costs
aren’t too bad at all,” says Adrian
Wor t h of P r e s t i ge S e r v ic e s L e e d s , a
Bentley specialist. “It’s when people
bring us something that’s been
ne g le c t e d. I n t h at e v e nt , ge t t i n g a n R
up to scratch is expensive.”
He ’s t h i n k i n g of t he k i nd of
Turbo R that, at best, has endured a
succession of minor services. Owners
might think that at least they’re
giving it regular doses of fresh engine
oil but Worth is more concerned
about things such as the gearbox
filter that has been sitting there formile after mile, clogging up and
s t a r v i n g t he u n it of oi l.
“In that case, you’re looking at a
gearbox overhaul,” he says.
Which is all a way of saying only
buy a Turbo R that has a full service
h i s t or y, a s i n a l l m i nor, i nt e r me d i at e
and major services, or that has had a
major overhaul by specialists.
Suc h c a r s do e x i s t. We fou nd a
1997 Turbo R that, prior to purchase,
had had its leather and bodywork
restored by a specialist, and under its
present owner’s care, its suspension,
braking and cooling systems
overhauled. It’s for sale at £15,950.
For your money, you get a classic,
handbuilt, performance saloon
trimmed with the finest materials
and powered by a turbocharged
6.75-litre V8 producing 296bhp
for 0-62mph in around 7.0sec.Subsequent versions developed even
more power – the limited-edition
Turbo S 385bhp, the even rarer RT
400bhp and, in 1998, a year before
pr o duc t ion e nde d , 42 0bhp i n u lt r a-
exclusive RT Mulliner form.
The Turbo R was launched in 1985
as a successor to the Mulsanne Turbo.
(We found a mint, low-mileage
198 4 -r e g w it h f u l l s e r v ic e h i s t or y,
pr e v iou sl y ow ne d b y a r o c k s t a r,
advertised for just £9995.) Alas, it
was a bit of a pudding: quick but
too soft. The R – it stands for road-
holding – fixed that by adopting the
Mulsanne’s optional suspension pack
and much stiffer anti-roll bars, and
wearing low-profile tyres.
And so was born the most
comfortable but brutish conveyance
this side of the Flying Scotsman. Key
events include the adoption of anti-
lock brakes and fuel injection in late1986, and the move to a four-speed
GM auto gearbox from the same
company’s long-running three-speed
400 in late 1991. A facelifted version
with a new fuel injection system was
launched in 1995, and after 1996, it
was available in only long-wheelbase
form. Find a good one and, fingers
c r o s s e d , it w on’t b e a s e x p e n si v e t o
run as perhaps you first imagined.
If you’re tempted to chance your arm on a winged B, the Turbo R has a lot going for it.
But buy only if the car has a genuinely solid-gold service history. John Evans reports
WING AND A PRAYER
HOW TO BUY A
BENTLEY
TURBO R
A