THE MODERN MAGIC CARPET In the early 1950s, there was no other automobile quite like the Bentley R-Type Continental, the ultimate gentleman’s express.

James Bond drove a version he had Mulliner re-body from a wreck in the 1961 novel Thunderball .

Famously, in the words of Autocar magazine, it was “a modern magic carpet.” In the words of modern Bentley Drivers Club members: “Best car I have ever owned.” “Hope to take it to Heaven with me!” “Would not swap it for a thousand camels, even in the middle of the desert.” It was the fastest four-seat production car in the world—and the most expensive—cementing its exclusivity with only 207 made and earning its reputation as “the car of kings.” In total, 43 left-hand drive examples were produced, of which merely 23 were equipped with the center-shift manual gearchange CHASSIS NUMBER BC1LB Chassis number BC1LB, offered here, ticks all the boxes for R-Type Continental connoisseurs.

It was one of only two of the second-series “B” models supplie...