R Type
(1953-1955)
R-Type standard steel saloon
A shortcoming of the Bentley MK VI and the early
Silver Dawn was a serious
deficiency of luggage space. The
task of addressing the problem fell to the
then chief styling engineer John
Blachley, who redesigned the tail of the car for the
Bentley VII and the 'E' series Silver Dawn.
The car above is an experimental
Bentley VII or 'R' type chassis 12VII.
The extended rear wing and longer boot made for a sleeker
looking car
than it's short boot predecessor, particularly when viewed
from
the three-quarter rear aspect.
From June 1952 numerous
changes were introduced with the 'R' series Bentley and the 'E' series
Silver Dawn chassis to correspond with the new
standard steel coachwork with longer boot:The
automatic gearbox was available only on export cars at first, but later
also on home market cars. Early chassis frames were riveted, but commencing
with chassis B349TO(Bentley)
and SNF1(Silver
Dawn), theframe was of welded constructionas
seen here. The dual exhaust system was standard on the Bentley R-type and
first appeared on the Silver Dawn from the start of the 'H' series.
Unlike that of the short boot
car, the boot
lid was hinged at the top and a great deal
more luggage could be accommodated.The self supporting boot lid was of
aluminium alloy.Note the large
spanner for the
wheel disc nuts.