Vintage | | | Derby | | | Post-war | | | Crewe monocoque | | | Crewe modern | | | Specials |
Type | Period* | Synopsis | Variants |
---|---|---|---|
T1 | 1965-1977 | Engine enlarged to 6.75 litres from 1970 | Corniche |
T2 | 1977-1980 | Improved suspension and cosmetic differences | Corniche, Camargue** |
Mulsanne | 1980-1992 | Fuel injection from 1986 | Turbo (from '82), S (from '87) |
Continental | 1984-1995 | Rebranded Corniche | A few Turbo Continentals from '92 |
Turbo R | 1985-1997 | Improved roadholding | S, RS, RT, RL |
Bentley 8 | 1984-1992 | An economy model | |
Brooklands | 1992-1997 | non-turbo version of Turbo R | LPT from 1996 |
Continental R | 1992-2003 | 2-door coupe | T, SC |
Azure | 1995-2003 | DHC variant of Continental R |
* Some dates may be open to interpretation where production was extended by variants
** One Camargue is believed to have been Bentley
Until 1998, Bentley remained part of Rolls Royce Motors. By 1998, RR/B was owned by Vickers, who then sold it in a complicated deal to BMW, but the name and Crewe factory were transferred to Volkswagen.
This page depicts examples of the cars made before the Volkswagen era. There is some overlap into the latter era, as the coupe models were continued past 1998.
Because there was no longer a separate chassis, there were no traditionally coachbuilt cars. H J Mulliner and Park Ward had merged and been absorbed as a subsidiary of Rolls Royce and designed a slightly modified rear wing line for the T type, which was marketed in both RR and Bentley forms called the Corniche.
A T2 (left) contrasts with a rare Corniche Bentley DHC (right). The waisted rear wing line is not as clear in this photograph as in that of the later Continental (below).
The Bentley 8 was a normally-aspirated version, identified by a wire-mesh grille matrix instead of the vanes that were standard at the time.
Left: Turbo R and Mulsanne Turbo
Right: Continental R and Turbo RT
Left: an early (1992) car. The bonnet line is entirely different from that of the Turbo R.
Right: the rear of a 1993 car.
Left: The profile shows the subtle curves of the Continental R compared with the 4-door cars.
Right: a late model, with laser-cut radiator grille and wire-mesh vents below the headlamps. This is a Mulliner wide-body car, with flared rear wheel arches and side-vents behind the front wheels.
Some early Turbo R and Continental R cars have been retro-fitted with wire mesh or laser-cut grilles, under-lamp vents or both. A definitive opinion about a particular car's origins cannot be derived from cursory observation of these features.
Chrome radiator shells were an option. The Continental T was a slightly shorter version with an uprated engine.
Aug 2013, (corrected Apr 14)