• Rare North American Region Special Edition (NARSE) • Delivered in Blue Sequin Mica on Sandstone • Eight-cylinder 420 hp turbo engine • Only 27,000 miles on the clock • Around €10,000 in recent invoices • French registration document Bentley's renaissance in the 1980s rested essentially on models whose basic architecture was shared with other Rolls-Royce models, but at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show, a maquette of the "Project 90" coupé, designed by John Heffernan and Ken Greenley, was on display, intended to test the public's reaction to an exclusively Bentley high-performance model.

When the definitive model - the Bentley Continental R - was unveiled six years later, the crowd burst into applause.

Under the continuing influence of Heffernan and Greenley, the Continental R benefited from computer-assisted design and wind tunnel tests to develop its elegant aerodynamic profile.

Despite the need to include less traditional components, such as roof-cut door frames, the result was in keep...