1989 Bentley Turbo R

A Spectacular All-Original Example of the Fastest Production Sedan in the World for 1989
Stunning Silver over Black Connolly Autolux Piped Red, Beautiful Original Wood & Leather
A Well-Serviced Car with Recent Hydraulics & Avons, New Air Conditioning and Service Just Done
Priced Very Fairly For Condition and Quality of Service History - Fly In And Drive Home

Please Wait For All Pictures To Load - It's Worth It!

Sold new by Carriage House Motor Cars (when they were still in Manhattan) in 1989, this first-year US-spec Turbo R retains all of its original silver metallic finish as well as its comprehensively original black Connolly Autolux leather interior. The leather and carpets are all piped and bound in red from new, not added as an afterthought. The wood is original from dash to door cappings and other details and is spectacular throughout. Mechanically, the car has just been driven by me, my partner and two of our technicians over 600 miles in the last three months during the course of our sorting-out process which will be detailed and shown below. Unlike most of these cars that come up for sale every so often, this is a fully-sorted, supremely 'honest' 3-owner 46,6xx mile original car with a high Autocheck score and clean report, also with all of its original books, tools, audio and the rest.

The original alloy wheels were chromed when new (extra cost option) with black inset vents and red B hand-painted in by the factory. The locking key is present along with all of its original ignition and valet keys as well. The mesh over slat grille was specific to the Turbo R as well.

These photos and more beneath show how straight the car is down both sides, no rust, detached trim or other damage. The chrome surrounds around the windows and up the 'B' pillars on both sides is likewise almost as-new.

The ground effects beneath the rear bumper and around the sides of the rear quarters was also specific to the Turbo R and make this example as striking as it was when brand new 27 years ago.

The car sits nice and level all around, there's just nothing to fault!

As mentioned above, the chrome alloys sport a set of Avon Turbospeed V-rated rubber; these are not brand new but recent with plenty of soft tread and no cracking or other damage. Among many of the repairs we made in the last 90 days, we performed a mild alignment to correct a crooked steering wheel but have found no uneven tire wear.

Straight down the right side...

... and the left.

Left front wheel and tire

Left rear wheel and tire

Right rear wheel and tire

Finally, the right front!

A close up of the grille that sports only a few small touch-ups.

In the interests of full disclosure, the original heavy lacquer clearcoat has some very mild "chicken-feet" checking limited to small areas on the leading edge of the front clip. I sharpened this photo in Photoshop which makes this stand out far more than it does in reality. This is 27 year old well-kept original paintwork and far better than most Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars of its age without any paintwork.

Not just the flying B that was standard but also the stand-up ornament, very sharp!

The original windshield is damage free as is the roof panel, no dents or clearcoat damage anywhere.

I think it's time to take a look inside. Note the beautiful driver door capping with no damage at all, just a nice reflection. The windows all work from that switch - we've replaced both of the front window couplings between the regulator and the motor as both fronts were inoperative when the car came in.

Brake pressure lights go right out as they should - both engine driven pumps were replaced very recently along with a full mineral oil service and various other components.

The unique Bentley pre-airbag steering wheel is in excellent original condition. Flash glare makes it look a bit scratched up in this photo as the same effect works to wash out the sumptuous interior in some other of the following photos, rest assured that it is not.

The driver's seat leather remains supple and supportive without any damage or significant wear, a testament to excellent care.

Running at warm idle in this photo with the A/C blowing high! Nice and smooth.

We put a new engine driven fan clutch in this car when we did the A/C compressor and all the V belts as it ran a bit warm when it came in. The fan was just free-spinning and we were amazed it ran as cool as it did. The only instrument that does not work on this car is the outside ambient air temperature gauge, and it will register intermittently so it is likely the sending unit or a bad connection that we did not track down.

Note the gorgeous book-matched burl veneers, I see all sorts of imagery in this dashboard fascia.

Taking a break from the wood for a moment, note the original Alpine AM/FM Stereo Cassette with 6 CD changer control - this was the factory fitted audio in the 1989 Turbo R, it's all here and works fabulously. In the above photo, you'll also see seat switches that can be an area of concern due to bad seat control ECUs. We just had Alex Porti (Proper Parts) rebuild the driver's seat ECU and it along with the memory functions works as it should once again. The passenger's seat was fine and works perfectly.

The fanfare horns as well as the regular horns also work well on the switch shown here.

Another gorgeous door panel and original capping.

Just gorgeous in every respect. You'll note here, above and below that the carpets are in excellent shape and have an original set of 'TURBO R' accessory overlays. This car never had Moutons nor were Turbo Rs usually marketed with them.

Amazing original leather everywhere does not disappoint!

The original books in their original pouch!

Contents laid out in the trunk include the original demo cassettes, books with original selling dealer markings and all supplements. It's all here.

Original wool headlining and leather sun visors are also nothing short of immaculate.

All the wood cappings on this car are as you see here... immaculate.

Gorgeous bolstered rear seats are very supportive and supremely comfortable on long trips. This is the benchmark 4-place luxury sport saloon!

Original trunk compartment is just as tidy and complete as the passenger compartment.

Tyre changing tools all here along with warning triangle bag, untouched.

Along with the complete original small tools box, of course.

Two bottles of emergency mineral oil are where they are supposed to be! (I hid the wheel lock key in here and it may be there when you get the car as well)

Original working Alpine factory-fitted CD changer where it belongs as well.

We have done all fluids on this car that we had no records for - the water pump and hydraulic system were renewed not long ago and as such we did not re-flush the cooling system nor depressurize the hydraulics as there was no need for that. The original Sanden AC compressor was on its way out and a new one went in its place along with a complete AC service, all belts and a new fan clutch as mentioned above. The fan control relays for the cabin fans were also dropping voltage and all four speed relays along with the master control relay were replaced. Oil and transmission fluids and filters were changed and the car driven as mentioned more than 600 miles.

This Turbo R is not the typical neglect case on its last legs like so many of these which are nothing but dubious cars from a service standpoint. To the best of our ability to tell after putting it through its paces over the last 90 days, this one is ready to go in all respects.
My friend Bill Davis (noted Rolls Royce class judge at the Pebble Beach Concours every year) has a similarly well-maintained Turbo R with nearly 200,000 miles. He bought the car new and maintains it by the book. Such maintenance is not difficult for a technician capable of maintaining European luxury sedans such as the Mercedes Benz 560SEL of the same era and costs about the same to maintain correctly if used regularly. However, this is a far, far more impressive car than an old W126 chassis in all respects.

The original Garrett AiResearch turbocharger, bit bigger than the one on the SAAB turbos of the same era!

Fun to see the SAAB designed APC control solenoid on the Turbo R (just to the left of the plenum) - this controls wastegate actuation based on spark knock/pre-ignition. Below this, you have a very standard Bosch K-Jetronic continuous fuel injection system for which parts are readily available as they are used on Mercedes and other European cars of this era. There's no great mystery here - these cars are colossally over-engineered and very well-built, all of the service and parts information are readily available online and it's an amazing car to drive, particularly on the open road.

We stand behind the cars that we sell and if you live in the vicinity of Savannah, GA, we would be more than happy to continue to service this car for you in our shop.

payment/shippingThis car is being sold by a licensed and bonded dealer of fine used automobiles located in Savannah, Georgia. Please understand that this is an unusual 27 year old vintage car hand-built by men and not gods - and is thus sold as-is, where-is with no implied or stated warranty or guarantee; while an excellent example, please be realistic about your expectations (i.e., if you expect it to be a late model Bentley, buy one of those instead - but it must be said that we prefer these S/N 20,000 series and up late 80s to mid 1990s Bentleys for ease of maintenance and their wonderful driving experience). As stated above in the listing, we have made a significant effort over the last three months to correct issues that we found with the car - and with said effort now believe it to be in extremely good health based on many years of experience with other sports, classic and unusual cars of all types over many years.

Full payment is due within seven days of auction close unless discussed with us in advance of your bid. Your winning bid is a contract to buy, not just to look or for first right of refusal; the only reason your contract would be null and void is if it was found that we willfully and with malice aforethought misrepresented the car in the above description. If you feel you need to inspect the car prior to purchase, please arrange and have this inspection done prior to placing a successful bid, we welcome your visit. If you have to ask your wife, get a loan or other complication, please make those arrangements as well prior to bidding. If you would like to see the Autocheck Report on this car, please contact me directly and I'll e-mail it to you, it is squeaky clean.

Accepted forms of payment include a cleared certified cheque or wire transfer in the dealership's bank account, or cash in person on pickup (no cash via the mail, eBay!). We require that paperwork be completed prior to or at the time of pickup (should you do this in person) or filed back with us if done remotely prior to the car leaving, we typically FedEx paperwork out to you immediately on receiving payment so this is a quick process. The car will be sold on a clear New Jersey title (from prior owner) reassigned over to you and will be no problem registering in all states save perhaps California as it was not sold new there. We will require a copy of your driver's license to process paperwork. We do not charge any tax to out of state buyers as this is something you handle at the DMV or, naturally, other dealers in all 50 states.

Shipping or pickup must occur within fourteen days of auction close unless discussed with us in advance of your bid. We are happy to refer you to one of the high-quality open or enclosed collector car shipping companies that we use frequently in the normal course of business - and we cannot stress enough the importance of using such a carrier and not a random transport broker or carrier you might find online, particularly as this is a unique vintage car in phenomenal condition. For international buyers, we can carry the car to the port of Savannah at no charge or to other ports for a nominal fee, though shipping beyond the U.S. border must be entirely arranged for and paid by you. Please contact us if you need any assistance with logistics and we'll be happy to help. Meanwhile, the car is safe and secure in our Savannah, GA location.

We reserve the right to cancel all bids and end the auction early at any time during the course of the sale should a sale occur outside of eBay as the car has been offered quietly through other channels over the past couple of weeks. We typically do not do this at all and only when full payment has been received from such a buyer will the auction be pulled.

Any legal action associated with this sale from either the buyer or the seller is to take place in the State of Georgia in the Chatham County Courthouse. The bidder/buyer further agrees that any legal action will be heard in Chatham County in the State of Georgia. All legal actions associated with this auction/sale will be governed by the laws of the State of Georgia and buyer agrees to be responsible for all legal costs including, but not limited to, court costs, expenses, attorney fees, cost of process service, and all other costs associated with the normal course of business. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS?

E-MAIL ME OR CALL +1.804.357.4926 (Cell)