Just Arrived

Bentley Mulsanne Turbo - FSD 837

Chassis: 08003

It isn't every day that one Rolls-Royce leaves and six classics arrive to take its place.

Not long ago, our rather rare Mulliner Park Ward 2-Door Saloon found a new home. In return came something altogether less glamorous, but arguably far more exciting: a transporter loaded with six Rolls-Royce and Bentley classics making the journey across the Irish Sea from the Emerald Isle.

It was quite the sight. A Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, two Bentley S1s, a Bentley S2, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and a Bentley T1, all spanning decades of Crewe engineering and all perched on one lorry. They arrived looking tired, weathered and carrying the sort of honest scars you'd expect from cars that have spent years waiting for somebody to make a decision about them. Some will inevitably donate their parts to keep others alive. One or two, however, might just have another chapter left in them. That's exactly what we'll be finding out over the coming weeks.

Leading the convoy was this Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.

Finished in red with a cream leather interior, it's comfortably the strongest candidate of the six. In fact, it was the only one that simply climbed off the transporter under its own power. After a day spent watching reluctant classics being pushed, pulled and persuaded, that felt almost suspiciously easy.

It also presents rather well.

The leather has survived impressively, still soft and presentable with only the sort of gentle wear you'd expect. Better still, the wood veneer has escaped the usual fate that befalls so many Bentleys of this era. The lacquer remains glossy with remarkably little sun damage, giving the cabin a freshness that many of its contemporaries lost years ago.

That isn't to say it's ready for the open road.

We've deliberately resisted the temptation to draw conclusions before giving it a proper inspection. Every one of these Irish arrivals will spend some time in the workshop before we decide its future, and this Turbo is no different. A car can look wonderfully convincing until it introduces you to the first expensive noise or electrical surprise.

Even so, we're quietly optimistic.

Of the six cars that arrived together, this is the one we'd most like to see driving back out through the gates under its own steam. It has all the right ingredients. Now it's simply a question of finding out whether they're mixed together quite as well as first impressions suggest.

We'll know more soon.