Bentley R-Type Sports Special, year 1954. Colour silver metallic with a pale green cast, pale green leather interior with matching carpet. This tremendous Bentley Sports Special was built by the Englishman Jim York. York spent about ten years converting the Bentley R-type (chassis B91WX) to this breath-taking Sports Special. The idea was to create a car that “Handled like a Bentley but rode like a Rolls Royce”. The result is a Bentley special with design elements of the sporty (Jaguar) SS 100 and the Grandeur of a Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. The aluminium bodywork panels were hand crafted to perfection by York himself! The chassis and suspension were modified to match the much lighter bodywork. Performance was enhanced with bigger S.U. carburettors and an additional overdrive to the gearbox. Now 8 gear ratios are available. The top speed was increased significantly, and the engine revs were now much lower at cruising speeds. Everything you see is hand crafted, the four-person picnic case was handmade from scratch and it took nine months to be completed. This very special Bentley debuted at the Bentley Drivers Club’s Hatfield House Meeting in 1993 where it took 1st-in-class during the Concours d ‘Elegance competition. Fourteen years later, in 2007 the car became 1st-in-class at the Bentley Drivers Club’s Rousham House Gathering (having collected numerous BDC Concours awards in between times). From its completion in the early 1990’s this fine automobile has driven about 16.000 Miles. This Bentley R-Type Sports Special was serviced and maintained perfectly. This magnificent ‘one off’ automobile is in superb top condition and the car drives delightfully!
