Bentley Continental R, which started in the early nineties. Though it's fair to say its plush proportions (and fancy chrome) suggest a much more old-school style.
It was something that looked dated and certainly felt dated as sales declined, the first generation Continental GT that soon replaced it was certainly a leap to match Neil Armstrong. Some contemporary reviews of the first Volkswagen-ified Bentley complained of a lack of shine, and when you feel the car straight out of the box, it's easy to see how clean the GT suddenly feels.
The Continental R is as special as a luxury car can get. While the R and its GT successor were four-seat coupes, the old car was essentially a two-door limousine, even longer than today's Flying Spur and with acres of space and bay window visibility for rear passengers. They even had help getting in and out, the giant front door had handles at each end of the inside that were beautifully sewn together. There's a bit of rough resistance in the front seats that a modern 2+2 requires.
You assumed correctly. The rear wheels are driven by Bentley's famous – and now retired – 6.75-liter V8 engine, using turbocharging but not connected to the front axle. Not that it's some kind of wild drift monster next to Crewe's modern AWD rig. His delivery of the machine is too eloquent for that.
Figures varied widely throughout the Conti R's life, from 315bhp at the model's launch in 1991 to around 420bhp by the time production slowed to a halt in 2003. Torque is a more appropriate figure to analyze, as this is a working car. it's best if the revs are kept low. Weight increased from 485 lb-ft to a mammoth 650 lb-ft over the R's life, with both figures delivered at just 2,200 rpm. The rev counter, for reference, redlines at 4,500 rpm. Like the old taxis in London.
At 5.3m long and 1.8m wide, it's not small. But this is an old car, so visibility is good, thanks to its large greenhouse and the rakish bow of the bonnet. And driving it is generally very easy, with a very smooth four-speed automatic gearbox and a big wheel that spins like there's helium pumped through the steering rack
Brand new, this Continental R is one of the most expensive cars in the world at £200,000 (plus). Or, once you run it through the inflation calculator, almost £400k in cash today. Which looks as big as the car itself when the latest Conti GT costs £152k before options. VW's influence may have softened some of the Bentley's advantages, but it has also helped soften its price.
But you certainly can't argue with the material provided for that kind of money. The R still feels leviathan, which is great news for back-seat roominess, but less so for scalpel-sharp handling. But with so much torque from so few revs, it's not about frenetic progress. It's about walking around in silence while admiring the world outside its large windows. And how beautiful it is when you do.
Bentley's famous 6.75-litre V8 produces around 420bhp at the moment, which should be enough to process the nineties tires and traction control (which goes off with one quick press of a button), but the Conti R is quite powerful. It feels designed to prevent the driver from being aggressive at every turn.
The steering is a long way off and although the V8 sounds grumbling under hard acceleration, it's a million miles from today's pop-and-bang choreography.
The Sport button helps the four-speed automatic drop a little more sharply, with the difference in actual progress being negligible. Although 0-60mph takes around six seconds on paper, momentum is gained in such a smooth and linear manner, that you'll barely notice the speed increase at the current rate of a fast hot hatchback.
Overall, this is a huge comfort benchmark and a really easy thing to get around; For all its two-door rakishness, you still feel like you're being driven even when you're in the driver's seat. It's likely that Bentley foresaw the world of assisted drive systems and engineered them into the chassis and powertrain from the start.
