Bentley R Type
| Bentley R Type | |
|---|---|
| File:1953 Bentley R-Type standard steel saloon.jpg
Standard steel sports saloon 1953
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| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Bentley Motors |
| Also called | Bentley Mark VII |
| Production | 1952–1955 2323 built |
| Assembly | Crewe, United Kingdom |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Luxury car |
| Body style | Standard 4-door saloon; otherwise as arranged with coachbuilder by customer |
| Layout | front engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Related | Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 4.6 L IOE straight-6 130 hp (97 kW)(estimate)[1] |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual 4-speed automatic (optional) |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 120 in (3,048 mm) [2] |
| Length | 200 in (5,080 mm) [2] |
| Width | 69 in (1,753 mm) [2] |
| Height | 64.5 in (1,638 mm) [2] |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Mark VI |
| Successor | S1 |
The R Type is the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, replacing the Mark 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 & Co., Park Ward, Harold Radford, Freestone and Webb and others.
Other than the radiator grilles and the carburation there was little difference between the standard Bentley R Type and the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. The R Type was the more popular marque, with some 2,500 units manufactured during its run to the Silver Dawn's 760.
Contents
Design
During development it was referred to as the Bentley Mark VII; the chassis cards for these cars describe them as Bentley 7. The R Type name which is now usually applied stems from chassis series RT. The front of the saloon model was identical to the Mark VI, but the boot (trunk) was almost doubled in capacity.[citation needed] The engine displacement was approximately 4½ litres, as fitted to later versions of the Mark VI.[3] An automatic choke was fitted to the R-type's carburettor. The attachment of the rear springs to the chassis was altered in detail between the Mark VI and the R Type.[4]
For buyers looking for a more distinctive car, a decreasing number had custom coachwork available from the dwindling number of UK coachbuilders. These ranged from the grand flowing lines of Freestone and Webb's conservative, almost prewar shapes, to the practical conversions of Harold Radford which including a clamshell style tailgate and folding rear seats.[peacock term]
Running gear
All R Type models use an iron-block/aluminium-head straight-6 engine fed by twin SU Type H6 carburettors.[citation needed] The basic engine displaced 4,566 cc (278.6 cu in) with a 92 mm (3.62 in) bore and 114.3 mm (4.50 in) stroke.[3] A 4-speed manual transmission was standard with a 4-speed automatic option becoming standard on later cars.
Brakes and suspension
The suspension was independent at the front using coil springs with semi elliptic leaf springs at the rear.[3] The brakes used 12.25 in (311 mm) drums all round and were operated hydraulically at the front and mechanically at the rear via a gearbox driven servo.[citation needed]
Performance
A four door saloon with automatic transmission tested by the British magazine The Motor in 1953 had a top speed of 101.7 mph (163.7 km/h) and could accelerate from 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 13.25 seconds. A fuel consumption of 15.5 miles per imperial gallon (18.2 L/100 km; 12.9 mpg-US) was recorded. The test car cost £4481 including taxes.[2]
Coachbuilders' bodies
-
Bentley R-Type Autotron NL 1990.jpg
Standard steel
sports saloon -
Abbott
fixed-head coupé -
1954 Bentley R Type.jpg
Freestone & Webb
sports saloon -
1953 Bentley R-type H.J. Mulliner 9075618814.jpg
H J Mulliner
drop-head coupé -
Bentley R-type RREC Annual Rally 2010 4875771364.jpg
H J Mulliner
sports saloon -
1952 Bentley R-type James Young Coupé 7371777430.jpg
James Young
coupé -
Bentley R Type RREC Annual Rally 2010 4798560273.jpg
James Young
sports saloon -
1948 Bentley coupé de ville - rvl.jpg
Park Ward
coupé de ville
R-Type Continental
The R-Type Continental was a high-performance version of the R-Type. It was the fastest four-seat car in production at the time.[5]
The prototype was developed by a team of designers and engineers from Rolls-Royce Ltd. and H. J. Mulliner & Co. led by Rolls-Royce's Chief Project Engineer, Ivan Evernden.[6] Rolls-Royce worked with H. J. Mulliner instead of their own coachbuilding subsidiary Park Ward because the former had developed a lightweight body construction system using metal throughout instead of the traditional ash-framed bodies.[7]
The styling, finalised by Stanley Watts of H. J. Mulliner,[8] was influenced by aerodynamic testing conducted at Rolls-Royce's wind tunnel by Evernden's assistant, Milford Read. The rear fins stabilised the car at speed and made it resistant to changes in direction due to crosswinds.[9]
A maximum kerb weight of 34 long hundredweight (1,700 kg) was specified to keep the tyres within a safe load limit at a top speed of 120 mph (190 km/h).[10]
The prototype, with chassis number 9-B-VI[10] and registration number OLG-490, which earned it the nickname "Olga",[4] was on the road by August 1951.[10] Olga and the first series of production Continentals were based on the Mark VI chassis, and used a manual mixture control on the steering wheel boss, as these versions did not have an automatic choke.[4]
The early R Type Continental has essentially the same engine as the standard R Type, but with modified carburation, induction and exhaust manifolds along with higher gear ratios.[11] The compression ratio was raised to 7.25:1 from the standard 6.75:1,[3] while the final gear ratio was raised (lowered numerically) from 3.41 to 3.07.[12]
Despite its name, the two-door Continental was produced principally for the domestic home market, most of the 207 cars produced were right-hand drive, with 43 left-hand drive examples produced for use abroad. The chassis was produced at the Rolls-Royce Crewe factory and shared many components with the standard R type. R-Type Continentals were delivered as rolling chassis to the coachbuilder of choice. Coachwork for most of these cars was completed by H. J. Mulliner & Co. who mainly built them in fastback coupe form. Other coachwork came from Park Ward (London) who built six, later including a drophead coupe version. Franay (Paris) built five, Graber (Wichtrach, Switzerland) built three, one of them later altered by Köng (Basel, Switzerland), and Pininfarina made one. James Young (London) built in 1954 a Sports Saloon for the owner of the company, James Barclay.
After July 1954, the car was fitted with an engine with a larger bore of 94.62 mm (3.7 in), giving a total displacement of 4.9 L (4887 cc/298 in³).[citation needed]
The rarity of the R Type Continental has made the car valuable to car collectors. In 2015 a 1952 R Type Continental, in unrestored condition, sold for over $1 million USD. [13]
Production numbers
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Culshaw & Horrobin 2013, p. 83.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Bennett 2009, p. 17.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Egan 1990, p. 120.
- ↑ Bennett 2009, pp. 13–14.
- ↑ Bennett 2009, pp. 11, 14.
- ↑ Bennett 2009, pp. 14–15.
- ↑ Bennett 2009, p. 15.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Bennett 2009, p. 16.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Egan 1990, p. 121.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ King 2006, p. [page needed]
References
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bentley R-Type. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bentley R-Type Continental. |
| Bentley timeline, 1920s–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Type | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | |||||||||||||
| Ownership | Bentley Motors Limited (1919–1931) |
Rolls-Royce Bentley Motors (1931) Limited (1931–1980) |
Vickers plc Rolls-Royce Bentley Motors (1931) Limited (1980–1998) |
Volkswagen Group (1998–) |
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| Coachbuilder's open 2/4 seater |
3 L | 4½ L 6½ L Speed Six |
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| Coachbuilder's large saloon coupé or convertible |
6½ L Speed Six 8 L |
4L 3½ 4¼L Mark V |
Mark VI | R | S1 S2 S3 |
T | |||||||||||||||||
| C o n t |
Continental S1 Continental S2 Continental S3 |
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| Cars with Bentley own-factory coachwork | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large saloon |
Mark VI | R | S1 S2 S3 |
T1 | T2 | Mulsanne | Brooklands | Arnage | Mulsanne | ||||||||||||||
| Turbo R | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coupé | Corniche | Continental R/S/T | Br. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible | Corniche | Continental | Azure | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Bentleys on the Volkswagen platform | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Large saloon |
Continental Flying Spur |
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| Coupé | Continental GT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible | Continental GTC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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