1954 Bentley
R-Type - Continental
BC51LC

Only 208 cars were built during the three year period and just 15 of these were bodied with special coachwork. The majority of the cars were right hand drive, but this is 1 of just 43 left hand drive cars. Of the 15 special bodied cars 5 were built by the famous French coachworks of Franay. BC51LC is the first built by Franay and the only left hand drive example in existence!

This particular R-Type Continental has a 4,566 cc engine (4.5-liter), a four-speed manual transmission with the ultra rare center floor-mounted shifter, and a rear axle geared for high-speed touring. The R-Type can maintain 120-mph for hours without breaking a sweat. Most Continentals were fastbacks built by H. J. Mulliner & Co. in London, with six by Park Ward also of London, three by Graber in Switzerland, five by Franay in Paris, and Pinin Farina in Italy created only one.

Production of the Bentley R-Type started in 1952 and continued through 1955. The Continental was a sports car designed to be driven by the owner-enthusiast. The Continental is recognizable by the “fastback” design which incorporates a rear window and a sweeping trunk lid that results in a more spacious luggage compartment. The R-Type Continental was delivered as a rolling chassis for the creation of custom coachwork

This extremely rare and beautiful example was delivered new to Vandendreissche & Fils May 20th, 1954 in France. Below is the ownership history:

Past owner include:
D. Smith 1965
Gene Littler 1977
Bill Jacobs 1980
Blackhawk 1982
K. Behring 1983
Bill Jacobs jr. 1990
Richard Gorman 1990
Blackhawk 1991- present

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