With design heritage dating to aerodynamic research conducted at Rolls-Royce during the 1930s, the streamlined R-Type Continental reasserted Bentley’s legendary performance image and continues as an automotive landmark and true object of desire for collectors today. After creating some lightweight bodies on the Mark VI chassis, H.J. Mulliner was contracted to design and construct the R-Type Continental prototype, affectionately named “Olga.” The body, window frames, and seat structures were of light alloy, resulting in a four-place body weighing just 750 pounds and the complete car less than 4,000 pounds. Aerodynamics were refined in the wind tunnel, including the reduced frontal area, sleek fastback roofline, and discreet tail fins. Exhaustive road testing resulted in modification of the gearbox to a direct-ratio top gear and a lowered rear-axle ratio for enhanced performance. The most expensive production car of its day, a total of 207 were built, plus the prototype. Of those, 193 were fitted with the most desirable Fastback body design by H.J. Mulliner.

This remarkable example of Bentley’s landmark, swept-tail, postwar sports car emerges today from long-term hibernation, having entered its current family ownership in the 1950s.

According to factory records, chassis BC17LB was completed on January 23, 1953, to special design no. 7277A/7345. It was fitted with engine BCB16 and built to the extremely rare specifications of left-hand drive with central, manual floor-shift transmission. Tailored individually in its details, one needs little imagination to conjure how those looked, since some 72 years later it remains in precisely the colors and fabrics that it was originally supplied. It was listed as having Dark Green paintwork, with chrome side moldings on the body and Wilmot-Breeden bumpers. The interior was trimmed in “House of Commons” Green leather and featured individual seats equipped with tables. Additionally, the doors contained map pockets, the dash had its speedometer and rev-counter transposed, and an altimeter was fitted.

Briefly registered with the London license plate NXD 340, three months later the Bentley was invoiced to Lloyd S. Gilmour of New York on April 22, 1953, through local main agent J.S. Inskip. According to The Continental Register, Mr. Gilmour had accrued roughly 30,000 miles in three years after which, he returned it to Inskip, where it was discovered by William “Bill” Klein Jr. When resold by Inskip in February 1956, they replaced its odometer with a new unit.

The name Klein resonates strongly in Bentley circles as Bill and his wife Ann were preeminent exponents of the old car hobby in the immediate postwar era, with a particular penchant for the Bentley marque. Upon Ann Klein’s death in the mid-2000s, Gooding & Company famously dispersed her stable of cars, with her beloved “Green Hornet” Blower breaking records when it sold for more than $4.5 million. That car, like the one presented here, was another example that adhered to their passion for originality and had not been restored.

Bill Klein died in 1972, at which point the car passed to his brother-in-law, and has remained in their family to this day. In addition to the reported modest mileage tallied on the car, the Bentley is not known to have ever been restored, beyond routine service and maintenance. Over the course of its seven decades, its interior leather has dried a little but remains in incredible original order, and only the carpets show any losses. Although rarely used, it was recommissioned in recent years and is sold in running condition, but it may require more comprehensive servicing before active use.

A testament to its limited ownership chain and the forward-thinking Klein inclinations towards preservation, BC17LB arrives into the 21st century in a condition for which it will rightly be prized today. Offering potential for unrestored classes around the world, or indeed simply to experience this legendary model as it was originally supplied, this is a very special one-of-one Bentley.