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Driven: 1954 Bentley Continental R-Type; The Predecessor
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In the clutches of Rolls-Royce since the putsch of 1933 when Rolls acquired Bentley, the company from Crewe, England, had been reduced from a Le Mans-worthy competitor to the “silent sports car.” Indeed, immediately after World War II, the Bentley Mark VI was simply a Silver Wraith with an extra carburetor.
Fortunately, that was to change when H.I.F. Evernden, chief project engineer at R-R/Bentley, and chief stylist J.P. Blatchley were put to work on a car that looked good, went fast, accelerated quickly and had “excellent handling qualities.”
The pair worked from inspiration of the prewar Corniche slated for construction in 1940, but blown to pieces—all but the ignition key goes the legend—by the Luftwaffe. The result was a two-door fastback body, its aerodynamics tested at Roll’s Flight Test Establishment with the main requirement that the classic Bentley grille remain, sort of like putting a barn door on a raindrop.
Engine modifications for the 4.5-liter in-line six were limited to slight bump in compression, from 6.25 to 7.0:1 and a reduced restriction exhaust system, but with the power gained and the better aerodynamics, the prototype had a top speed of 120 mph compared to the Mark VI’s 100 mph. That made it the fasted four-place sedan of its time. A production model was tested by Britain’s Motor magazine at zero to 60 mph in 12.5 seconds. That's hardly remarkable today but creditable for a 3700 pound sedan in its day.
They called it the R-Type Continental.
The big Bentley was a driver’s car. The large steering wheel frames an instrument panel full of gauges and on the right-hand drive car we drove, the shift lever for the fully synchro transmission was on the right. It’s smooth, with the feel of well-turned metal on metal, but it’s mounted low by the driver's right knee and is somewhat of a reach, a throwback to the pre-synchro days when shifting was to be avoided at all costs.From the outside the car belies its size, not looking as large as it is. Yet it sits on a 120-inch wheelbase and is 63 inches tall. The lost size returns on city streets, however. There the car feels big, the lanes narrow and other cars are much too close.
The highway was the Continental’s natural environment, and it is there it came into its own, and on the long straight roads of Europe, such as were left at the time, the Continental earned its name. Acceleration is by no means breathtaking but torque was impressive on hills. The car is noticeably quiet at speed, the engine unobtrusive and the burble of the unrestricted exhaust is effectively excluded by rolled up windows. Surprisingly absent is wind noise. The Continental lives up to its advanced billing.
The legend that Rolls-Royce required prospective Continental owners to sign a pledge that they would not race is not true, but it was racetrack performance that impressed legendary car tester Tom McCahill. A Bentley Continental was used at Le Mans as a “pilot car,” running the course at least once every hour to check track conditions. McCahill went along as a passenger on several tours and reported that “it was an uncanny experience to sit in a full-sized sedan and, right in the thick of competition in the biggest race in the world, to actually pass some of the competing cars.” Only the Cunningham and the winning Mercedes passed the Bentley with ease.Production ran from 1952 to 1955, during which 207 R-Type Continentals were made. Half came to the United States: A different continent, but still… But the Continental was something of a paradox, however. It was marketed as a high-performance sedan with a minimum of luxury equipment, but the older clientele more able to afford the Continental (at $17,000 new) weren’t interested in the rather Spartan R-Type interior.
Such cannot be said of the current Bentley Continentals, which swaddle occupants in leather and wood, but we think that McCahill, who called the Bentley R-Type Continental “the greatest I have ever tested,” surely would be impressed the with the 2008 Bentley Continental GT, back out from below Rolls-Royce, with race cars again at Le Mans and with the Continentals, the fastest four-place cars in the world today.
Illustrations top to bottom: 1954 Bentley Continental R-Type, photos by John Matras. Special thanks to William Davis.
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