Throwback Thursday: Bentley Turbo R

On Thursday Art of Gears takes a looks into the past and some of the most famous and popular vehicles to ever be available on the market. This week our throwback Thursday featured vehicle is the Bentley Turbo-R which went into production from1985 to 1997 and then again in 1997 to 1999 with the upgraded Turbo RT.

Bentley is a British automotive designer, manufacturer and showroom holder with multiple showroom offices throughout the United Kingdom, founded in 1919 by Walter Bentley.

Bentley Turbo-R entered production initially in 1985 and lasted until 1997, during this 12 year period almost 7,300 individual units were manufactured and ready to go onto the automotive market.
However, again in 1997, Bentley decided to give the Bentley Turbo-R an upgrade and introduced a new successor called the Bentley Turbo-RT after 12 years straight production of the Turbo-R.

The Bentley Turbo-R weights around 5,400lb which is quite heavier than your regular family vehicle which has an average weight of around 4,000lb. To pull such extra weight and pick up the correct amount of speed within the given time can only be possible with the help of a powerful engine, this is why the Turbo-R was fitted with a V8 6.75L turbocharged water-cool engine.

When the Turbo-R released in 1985, it had a price tag at around $150,000 USD. However when the Turbo-RT was released in 1997, Bentley increased the price significantly by more than $65,000.

But let’s say you did have enough money to purchase a Turbo-R, it’ll come as no surprise that the maintenance cost then was high and is still to this day. The price for one tyre replacement could cost anywhere from £300 with overall yearly maintenance cost of £2,500 – £3,000.

Between 1995 to 1998, there was 375 Turbo R’s on the roads in England, however latest data shows that in 2022 (3rd quarter), 172 were licensed and 133 were on SORN by the DVLA.

(NOTE: These figures are always changing depending on how many are put back on or taken off the road , but can be viewed here.)