You can now book a one to one appointment (up to one hour) to view this lot at our central location. Please contact the member of staff associated with this lot to secure your appointment. The health and safety of both our customers and team remains the utmost priority, we are therefore operating to strict COVID-19 guidelines and full instructions will be given when making your appointment.The Continental R Mulliner was a combination of the 'wide-body'Continental R model with the Continental Ts more powerful, 420bhpengineOnly 46 of these remarkable cars were made between 1999/2003 at a basic price of 225,000Special order silver exterior at considerable extra cost.Dramatic Mulberry leather interiorBespoke Mulliner features include the drilled pedals, starter button, engined turned-aluminium dashboard and cockpit panels, unique ribbed seating and fluted headlining, external wing vents39,300 miles (atoc). 11Official Bentley dealer service stamps full book pack, manuals etcImpressive specification. UK-supplied and in private ownership since 2013Introduced in 1991, the Continental R was the first Bentley in 26 years that did notshare its bodyworkwith a concurrent Rolls-Royce model and was inspired by the very stylishContinental R-Type of the 1950s. The elegant two-door coachwork was styled by John Heffernan and Ken Greenley, a duo whose rsum included sports cars like the Aston Martin Virage.At 175,000, however, this newcomer was one of the worlds most expensive cars, although at least it was also one of the fastest. At launch, this latest Continental used the familiar 6.75-litre V8 with a big Garrett turbocharger and an intercooler in the same state of tune as in the Bentley Turbo R. Crewe still declined to provide official power outputs at thetime, although its estimated that around 325bhp was on tap, along with a huge amount of torque. Top speed was governed to 145mph, with 60mph arrivingin just 6.6 seconds all in a car weighing around 2.5 tons, on a 120-inch wheelbase and with an overall length of 17.5 feet!The rest of the Continental Rs running gear was also taken from the Turbo R, with fully independent coil-spring suspension (featuring hydropneumatic self-levelling at the rear) and power-hydraulic brakes with ABS, plus variable-assistance power steering. To add to the sporting feel of the newcomer, this was the first Crewe-built automatic-transmission car to have the gear selector in the centre console rather than on the steering column. The selector handle incorporated a Sports button, which would simultaneously quicken the gearboxs reactions and delay upshifts while firming up the suspension.Five years later Bentley introduced a short-wheelbase version dubbed the Continental T that was equipped with an uprated engine developing 420 hp and an impressive 650 foot-pounds of torque available at only 2,200 rpm and it wasn't long before Bentley customers wereexpressing aninterest in equipping the wide-body Continental R model with the Ts more powerful engine. Shortly afterwards,the Continental R Mulliner was introduced at the 1999 Geneva Salon, itsnomenclature payinghomage to H.J. Mulliner, the British coachbuilder responsible for the original R-Types breathtaking fastback bodywork. The R Mulliners wide-body configuration offered spacious interior elegance restoring the rear legroom lost in the 'T', while the twin-turbocharged V-8 was capable of rocketing the car to a top speed of nearly 170 mph.Individually tailored to customer order, the R Mulliner was Bentleys ultimate 20th-century combination of luxury and performance, produced in a modest quantity of as few as 131 examples.If you plan to use your Bentley to attend Shareholders Meetings and the occasional funeral, this example may not be the car for you and an understated Arnage in respectful Masons Black may be more appropriate, however, if you feel the need to remind the world that 'you have arrived', this striking Continental R Mulliner may well be perfect. Finished in a 'Special Order' Silver enhanced byflared wheel arches, aerodynamic door sills, wing vents and purposefulbumpers,it appears to have been hewn from a block of solid aluminium and finely sculpted by a set-designer from 'Space:1999'.If the car's exterior is rather special then its interior can only be described as dramatic. Bentley offered buyers of the R Mulliner a bit of a free hand when it came to the cars internal specification and, in this case, the car's first owner has created something akin to the control room on 'Moonbase Alpha'. As well as all the traditional Mulliner features including chrome instrumentbezels, red starter button and drilled pedals,engined turned-aluminium panels are used extensively on the dashboard and elsewhere in the cockpit and when combined with the single-tone, Mulberry hide used in the bespoke seats, deep-fluted headlining, roll-top and steering wheel, the overall effect is more Lear Jet than passenger car.This example was UK-supplied in right-hand drive (1/46) by P&A Wood during March 2000 andhas been in private ownership since 2013 coveringa warranted 39,300 miles. The service records show11 official Bentley Dealer service stamps (most recently by Harwoods in Sussex at 36,486 miles) and during our vendor's ownership the car was entrusted to Frank Dale and Stepsons for minor adjustments,wheel alignment etc and we understand that they felt that it was 'one of the best they had ever seen'.Unique is a word frequently misused but it certainly applies to this 'extrovert' Continental R Mulliner. These desirable models are rightfully stretching theirlegs in the classic car market, so dont miss out before these raresporting Bentleys arrive in six-figure territory.Lot No. 161 - 2000 Bentley Continental R Mulliner 'Widebody'https://youtu.be/E3yebKFV8_4true