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Luxury sedans usually earn their reputations on refinement. The Bentley Turbo R earned its by being much quicker than a car that stately had any reason to be. Now a black-over-beige 1992 example with under 7,000 miles, one owner and no reserve is live on Bring a Trailer, where bidding stood at $10,000 as of this writing. The auction ends Monday, October 26.
The Bentley That Added an “R”
Bentley introduced the Turbo R in 1985 as the follow-up to the 1982 Mulsanne Turbo, the car that revived the Bentley name as a performance badge. The turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 carried over largely unchanged, at roughly 300 horsepower. What changed was everything underneath it. Per Bentley’s own heritage notes, engineers raised roll stiffness by 50 percent with stiffer anti-roll bars, firmer dampers and a Panhard rod. The “R” was widely taken to stand for roadholding, though the company never officially confirmed that.
The result was a sedan Bentley says could cover 0–62 mph in about seven seconds and top out around 135 mph. Rolls-Royce never published official power figures for these cars, which feels about right for the era’s brand of British understatement.
Why It’s Overlooked
Today’s attention goes to the loud and the lightweight, and the Turbo R gets remembered for its walnut and leather instead of its numbers. That is exactly what made it a sleeper. The engine is a Rolls-Royce pushrod V8 that barely changed over its life, force-fed by a single turbo and bolted to an automatic. Nothing about it looks fast, and it did not need to. Motorious’ Bentley Turbo R buying guide sums it up as ultimate luxury with a 0–60 time of about seven seconds.
The nameplate had a long second act, too. If you want to see where the formula ended up, look at the Bee Gee’s Bentley Turbo RT or the low-mileage 2012 Bentley Mulsanne, which kept the idea of twin-turbo muscle under quiet clothes.
What You’re Bidding On
According to the listing, the seller bought this Turbo R new and it has stayed registered in California. All of the roughly 7,000 miles on the odometer were added under current ownership. Under the hood is the turbocharged 6.75-liter V8 with Bosch fuel injection, driving the rear wheels through a four-speed automatic. A California emissions test was completed in preparation for the sale.
Inside, you get heated, power-adjustable front seats and a contoured rear bench in beige leather, burl walnut trim, cruise control, automatic climate control, and a cassette stereo. The dash carries a 170-mph speedometer, a 5,000-rpm tachometer and a cluster of auxiliary gauges for oil pressure, coolant temperature and voltage. Outside, it rides on 15-inch aluminum wheels wearing Avon Turbospeed tires, with ventilated front and solid rear discs and ABS. The car sells with its owner’s manual, a clean Carfax report and a California title in the name of the seller’s company.
The Honest Caveats
This is not a flawless time capsule, and the seller says so. The brake master cylinder is leaking, the front side marker lights do not work, and the climate control, right front window and left front door speaker are not functioning. The passenger power seat functions have been repaired, though the seller is unsure of its reliability. Those are the kind of electrical and hydraulic gremlins any 1990s Bentley can bring, so a buyer should budget accordingly.
Motorious’ buying guide flags other items to watch on these cars, including worn hydraulic tappets, self-levelling spheres that go hard, and electrical faults, which it treats as a walk-away warning. On the plus side, the four-speed automatic in this car matches the unit that replaced the original three-speed around 1992.
Why It’s Worth Watching
Single-owner, low-mile Turbo Rs do not come up often, and fewer still arrive without a reserve. If you enjoy the sleeper-luxury formula, Motorious has also looked at a twin-turbo V12 2006 Mercedes S65 AMG on Bring a Trailer, which takes the same idea in a very different direction.
This 1992 Bentley Turbo R is up for bid now. View the full listing on Bring a Trailer for the photo gallery, service details and comments from the community before the auction closes on Monday, October 26.
