1988 BENTLEY CONTINENTAL

This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Iconic Sale at the BRDC Classic 2026 - Collectors' Cars on Saturday the 25th of July, The Wing, Silverstone Circuit, NN12 8TN. When Rolls-Royce launched the two-door version of the Silver Shadow in 1966, the International ‘Jet Set’ began to clamour for attention at the dealerships. The Drop Head Coupé that followed in 1967 was even more exclusive and waiting lists ran for years. Between 1967 and 1995, production ran to just 570 Bentley soft tops, or a smidgen over 10%, when compared to the 5,678 Rolls-Royce Corniche Convertibles sold. As a result, the convertible Bentley is the most sought after of the two in today's market, enjoying favour not just with marque enthusiasts but with those who also appreciate rarity, especially as production numbers for right-hand drive examples were often far less.

With an unrivalled opulence and updated periodically these cars were still unashamedly ‘old school’ and whilst other 1980s luxury manufacturers were advocating the benefits of twin airbags, the craftsmen at Crewe were still offering the convenience of twin cocktail cabinets as optional extras. In 1986 the Bentley Corniche was renamed the Continental, the first time in nearly two decades that the winged-B was to be paired with the iconic name. A name so important to Bentley’s heritage it was used when the first stand alone car in over three decades was launched as the Continental R Coupé in 1991, a model that sold exceptionally well despite being the most expensive production car of the period.

The Continental R, like it’s post-war ancestor the R-Type, captured the hearts of wealthy enthusiast drivers and helped secure the future of Bentley for the second time in the marque’s history. Such was the name’s importance it was used by Volkswagen in 2003 to launch the first all-new Bentley under their ownership, securing Bentley’s place in the market for the third time.

Factory build records don’t often come as detailed or amusingly British as they do for this particular car. The numerous copy letters, telexes and faxes between Crewe and Mead of Burnham, the supplying dealer, evidence the delicate negotiations, with even a note thanking the recipient 'for tea', to satisfy the requests of a customer with exacting demands, before delivery in March 1988 at a cost of £90,104, or some £300,000 today. The car was ordered, even by the standards of the 1980s, in a striking colour combination. Having spoken to a previous owner of this car, he confirms it was 'certainly an eye-full' back in the day, because until circa 2005 it was finished in Acrylic White, with matching vinyl roof, over a Brilliant Red leather interior all enhanced by white hub cabs and a white grille above painted vanes.

It is perhaps understandable, therefore, that when the car was later purchased and shipped to Jersey it was repainted in black, likely Masons Black, with a double pinstripe, and re-trimmed in a toned down shade of red, closer to St. James’, and fitted with a mohair roof in black. The rare 'birds eye' maple woodwork, optioned from new, was kept. Returning to the mainland this year, it was issued with its original registration by the DVLA. At the time of cataloguing, the odometer reading was 49,862 miles and it will be presented to auction with a fresh oil and filter service by Balmoral, adding to their previous decades of stamped maintenance, together with their historic copy maintenance receipts, and the aforementioned factory records.