Bentley Turbo R

[Freddy]

Now I dont want to go searching for a Bentley owners forum!

Have any of you guys owned, driven or have an insight in to the Bentley Turbo R? Would like to know more about the driveability and reliability issues if any??

Any help would be appreciated

Cheers!

:)

[babz_audio]

what year model are we talking?

Not that ive driven one but just thought you might need to include that info

if you thinking of getting one then you might want to put a few pennies aside for a nice set of wheels..(22s :chat )

i think that the later shape 1995 model looks sweet, the lord mayor in nottingham as 2 of these :Thumbsup!

[Rixio]

I know what your thinking...and the answer is, no dont bother

[dandan]

some guy bought a scrapped bentley and rebuilt it with range rover vogue lights, 22's etc etc, was a bit maxpower, but he basically got a bentley on the road for about 8 grand!

not very useful i know but i'm full of pointless info.

There is a Bentley garage on my way home, want me to go and try to get a test drive? ;)

[Freddy]

Talking the 1996 model, I think they ended in 1997. The shape seemed to be the same from 1990-1996 with a facelift in 1997.

Some nicer wheels would definitely be on the cards.

Rix, what you mean? ;)

[alban1973]

Freddy, If you are in a postion to buy one, then you must. I have driven many Bentley examples, from base 8's, Musanes, and ofcourse turbo r's, which have made a lasting impression out of all the cars I have driven. I would recomend a 1994 or later as they have a slightly uprated 4sp with sport option gear box, which has the lever on the centre consule rather than on the colume. also the engine is slightly more powerful, data that is not available from bentley. If you are used to driving large cars then you will be fine, they are quite agile compared to the lesser bentley models and weight distribution is very good, not far off 50/50. Do not mix up what people say when comparing them to Rolls R, I have driven a few Rolls, and that is exactly what they do, they are not a nice experience. Power delivery is very good, nice short turbo lag from the huge turbo then a good kick in the back, they are a very deseptivley fast car, easy to drive fast and very imposing when you position your large grill in other drivers rear view mirror and then dispose of them into your rear view mirror without any fuss. which is what you feel you want to do with lesser mortals when you have got your nose stuck up in the air... We dont have to go into the interior, that speaks for itself. As for things to look out for, Same as any decent car, full backed up service history, low ownership is a must. tyres are an arm and a leg for the turbo's, suspension bushes wear as expected, the brakes are very similar set up to Citroen, they do have problems, there are 2 pumps for the brakes a high pressure and a low pressure, a very simple system which drive off the cam shaft , the pump levers either stick, or brake off, very common, trouble is you loose 50% of braking power at that point. most things are bullet proof as long as they have been looked after. fuel consumption is not a issue if you are used to an RX7. happy hunting, welcome to the gentlemans club, Pics enclosed of a 35.000 mile 1994 TurboR I was fortunate to have the use of for a few months in 2003

[Initial-D]

A 4 rotor, turbo charged bently!? ;)

[Freddy]

Alban.. Thanks for that! Definitely a good insight. So all in all, there is not a great deal difference between the full range by way of asthetics and mechanics. I like what you said about reliability too - fuel consumption can never be as bad as my FD so I can live with that. Would prefer the centre coloumn gear lever model as opposed to the van like steering wheel gear lever. ;)

The one in the pics looks very clean!

Pretty much buying one, just the right one. :)

[Freddy]

A 4 rotor, turbo charged bently!? ;)

Now that would be something! However, the only candidate for a 3 or 4 rotor jobbie would be my FD. :)

[DFLROWLAND]

my dad used to have one. only car that uses more petrol than an FD! very smooth. doesnt accelerate as such it just gathers momentum. deceptively quick. thats 590lbs of torque for you!!!

[Rixio]

I cant find any technical specs on it... Power/Torque, 0-60, Tops speed etc

[alban1973]

I cant find any technical specs on it... Power/Torque, 0-60, Tops speed etc

figures are not really what this car is about, to put in in perspective for 0-60 6.3secs, top speed depending on what the engine out put is, but around 135-140. but these figures do not tell the whole story, while sitting in your finest leather arm chair ,select sport, floor the throttle in to the 3 inch thick wilton, hear the muffled roar from the 6.8 V8 then about 1 second later you hear the turbo, no whisle here, it is the size of a rotary engine, sits down the front o/s inner wing and sounds like you have turned on the heater blower, next thing you know Westminster abbey has picked up its skirt and is hurtling down the road ,17 seconds or so away 100 miles an hour is achived, "oh was that a pin I heared drop on the back seat" no fuss no noise just the faint chink of wine glasses from your passengers. Unless you turn on the god knows how many speaker sound system which has more power than that huge engine... sorry getting carried away now.. Freddie will be able to comment further after his purchase no doubt....

[Newera]

We've supplied a few to a UK trade customer who sells them to clients in Greece.
I've tested each one we bought. Quite nice cars to drive, really plush inside. Brakes have very little feel. The whole car is lacking in feel, but it's a luxury car.
They're not that quick, but then they're big luxury barges. A lot of car for the money.

Watch out for bad suspension, cracked veneers, worn leather, no history, etc. which will all conspire to make it a hard car to sell if you buy the wrong one though!
Importing from Japan is not worth it for the UK, they're LHD here.

Miguel.

[Initial-D]

Miguel, why is it that Japan has LHD BMW's and Mercs when they themselves are RHD?????

[Newera]

Miguel, why is it that Japan has LHD BMW's and Mercs when they themselves are RHD?????

LHD has been a status symbol in Japan since the 2nd world war... There were no good cars in Japan after WW2, so the only good cars in those days were foreign. This has stuck as a trend. There are no RHD nice Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercs, BMW's, etc. Only the cheap base models are RHD.
LHD NSX's from the States also fetch strong money. :King :D

[Ianmcurtis]

Miguel, why is it that Japan has LHD BMW's and Mercs when they themselves are RHD?????


Good question :cool .

With an equally good reply ;)

[Freddy]

sorry getting carried away now.. Freddie will be able to comment further after his purchase no doubt....

Excellent... I will definitely update and comment once I get one - although it's as a present for my father so I doubt I will drive it much. The other candidates are the new BMW 7 series or Merc S Class.

Thanks for the advice Miguel and true say; when I was in Japan I was told the same. There is that status symbol of owning a a LHD drive but is a dying trend(?), also it seems to be that the latest Porsche's, Audi's and BMW's (notably the 7 series.) are being sold in RHD.

I saw this in Shinjuku, Tokyo.. they definitely know how to style all makes and models of cars out there. My local chum said it was Yakuza Styled. :)


http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c259/Transcars3/167385CF-9A78-E90A-DB030FFB356206AB.jpg

[Newera]

There is that status symbol of owning a a LHD drive but is a dying trend(?), also it seems to be that the latest Porsche's, Audi's and BMW's (notably the 7 series.) are being sold in RHD.


A few 7 series are sold here in LHD, but it's hardly a change in trend. You'd never see any self respecting Japanese Porsche, Ferrari or Lamborghini top model spec owner in an RHD.

7 Series are much the same the world over... Strange Luxury Barges that cost a fortune to buy new, but plummet in price the moment they leave the showroom floor. My uncle in the States has a leased one... Says there's no way he'd ever keep it once it's 3 years old, as it frequently gets electrical / electronic gremlins, such as locking him out of the car, losing computer functions, etc.

Modern Mercedes are much the same. 25% of those coming into workshops in the UK, that have been built in the last 3 years need to be pushed inside, due to electrical / electronic faults.

The Germans have invested heavily in high tech to do things like switching on light bulbs with binary code, etc. Trouble is Siemens is the best they have...which isn't very good :WaveBye

Meanwhile, Lexus sales are increasing strongly in all world markets. Even in Japan, they're just opening 2,000 new Lexus dealerships - to develop the Luxury brand of Toyota in Japan. They're RHD, but they're Japanese..

[iaint]

Trouble is Siemens is the best they have...which isn't very good :WaveBye

Meanwhile, Lexus sales are increasing strongly in all world markets. Even in Japan, they're just opening 2,000 new Lexus dealerships - to develop the Luxury brand of Toyota in Japan. They're RHD, but they're Japanese..

Interesting - the new London Bus management system (iBus) is laregly using Siemens technology, will be interesting to see how good they are outside their home land!

Was watching a report from the Detroit motorshow today and they were showing off the lastes Infinty (luxury branding for Nissan) coupe concept and taking about how they've increaced sales by 5% each year. Also how Toyota were going to overhaul GM in worldwide cart sales mid 2006. Looks like Japan knows it's cars.