Bentley R-Type - World Of Classic Cars -

Bentley R-Type Standard Steel Saloon 1953

The R-Type is the second series of post-war Bentley motorcars and replacing the Mk. VI. Essentially a larger-boot version of the Mk. VI, the R type is regarded by some as a stop-gap before the introduction of the S-series cars in 1955. As with its predecessor, a standard body was available as well as coachbuilt versions by firms including H.J.Mulliner, Park Ward, Harold Radford, Freestone and Webb and others. Even by this date, there was little difference (other than the radiator grilles and the carburation) between the standard Bentley R-Type and the Rolls Royce Silver Dawn, though Bentley was still the more popular sporting marque. The vast majority of cars produced indeed were Bentleys with some 2,500 units manufactured during the R-Type's run. During development, it was referred to as the Bentley Mk. VII. Indeed the chassis cards for these cars describe them as Bentley 7's. The R-Type name, which is now usually applied, stems from chassis series RT. The front of the saloon model was identical to the Mk. VI, but the boot was almost doubled in capacity and the engine increased in displacement from 4¼ to 4½ litres. All Bentley R-Type models use an iron-block with an aluminium cylinder head straight six engine configuration fed by twin SU Type H6 carburettors. The basic engine displaced 4,566cc. A four speed manual transmission was originally standard fitment with a four speed automatic transmission option and becoming standard on later cars.