Turbo R Buyer's Guide?
Discussion
Hi Guys
I am interested in a Turbo R, and have looked at a couple of buyer's guides on line which as use of what to look for etc.
However, I have not found anything which sets out the differences between the model years.
Is there a general consensus as to which year is best in terms of performance of the car against potential faults?
I have never driven one. How does it compare to a Jaguar X308 XJR (which I have at the moment)?
Finally, I rather like the look of the Continental R and later Turbo R bigger wheels. Is it considered naff to fit them in Bentlry circles?
Many thanks
I am interested in a Turbo R, and have looked at a couple of buyer's guides on line which as use of what to look for etc.
However, I have not found anything which sets out the differences between the model years.
Is there a general consensus as to which year is best in terms of performance of the car against potential faults?
I have never driven one. How does it compare to a Jaguar X308 XJR (which I have at the moment)?
Finally, I rather like the look of the Continental R and later Turbo R bigger wheels. Is it considered naff to fit them in Bentlry circles?
Many thanks
Buy, if you can find it, the Brooklands Books "Portfolio" collection of articles and features on the SZ range, in the one which also covers the BMW-based cars there is a good buyers guide reprinted from Classic Cars. IMHO worth the 20-30 GBP.
Re wheels - the Conti R alloys give the SZ range a much better look. I am not fond of the "turbine" styled wheels of the 1988-1993 cars. As long as you dont fir Arnage wheels or aftermarket Halfords rims you should be fine.
There seems to be a (sort of) general consensus, that...
...the early cars (ca 1985) are all cool and retro / but handle a bit weak and are also difficult to find
...the late models (1996/97) especially in the rare Mulliner spec versions are refined and collectors items / but the Zytek engine management might act up and that seems difficult to get right
...there is a mid-age bracket of cars (1993-1995) which combine classic exterior features (such as side mirrors located on the doors, not in the a-post corner) with a refined interior (quilted door cards, floor shift, new style seat patterns).
I dont know if this helps, but maybe it gives you some ideas for further research.
Re wheels - the Conti R alloys give the SZ range a much better look. I am not fond of the "turbine" styled wheels of the 1988-1993 cars. As long as you dont fir Arnage wheels or aftermarket Halfords rims you should be fine.
There seems to be a (sort of) general consensus, that...
...the early cars (ca 1985) are all cool and retro / but handle a bit weak and are also difficult to find
...the late models (1996/97) especially in the rare Mulliner spec versions are refined and collectors items / but the Zytek engine management might act up and that seems difficult to get right
...there is a mid-age bracket of cars (1993-1995) which combine classic exterior features (such as side mirrors located on the doors, not in the a-post corner) with a refined interior (quilted door cards, floor shift, new style seat patterns).
I dont know if this helps, but maybe it gives you some ideas for further research.
I'm just over the border from you - in Northumberland. Pleased to help where possible....
I also have an XJR, to - so can offer some objectivity.
The Crewe-built Bentleys are really unlike any other motor car - its a cliche I know, but true nonetheless. Your XJR falls into the "really fast saloons" category, but at the end of the day, its a car. Amongst others, I also have a Holden GTS and a Lotus Carlton, and to choose between them is a hard task. The Bentley, however is more of a posession, like a Rolex or a pair of Church's shoes - there's just something about the way it does its business. That having said, if you "get" the above, then you're home and dry; if you don't, then you never will. To sum it up, the best part of owning a Bentley Turbo is its capability of turning a really bad day at work into an irrelevance by the time you've exited the car park.
All of the turbo cars are capable of being driven very fast - almost to the pace of your XJR. The differences are in the other things. So the important production milestones are :-
( unreliable dates, sorry - this is all off the top of my head )
Mulsanne Turbo. Hugely fast, but no handling mods over a late Silver Shadow. Very entertaining.
Turbo R. Same car, but with 100+% roll stiffness increase, giving a very creditable agility improvement.
1985 Twin headlamps added, improving resale value
1986 Carburettor dropped in favour of mechanical injection
1989 Intercooler added
1990 electronically-controlled dampers
1991 4-speed electronically-controlled transmission
1994 electronic fuel injection
1995 facelift with thinner bumpers
My choice would be an immediately pre-electronic dampers, which has really very reasonable handling indeed, together with the intercooled fuel injection setup, but not with the less-reliable electronic dampers. Others, I'm sure have different favourites.
Stuart
I also have an XJR, to - so can offer some objectivity.
The Crewe-built Bentleys are really unlike any other motor car - its a cliche I know, but true nonetheless. Your XJR falls into the "really fast saloons" category, but at the end of the day, its a car. Amongst others, I also have a Holden GTS and a Lotus Carlton, and to choose between them is a hard task. The Bentley, however is more of a posession, like a Rolex or a pair of Church's shoes - there's just something about the way it does its business. That having said, if you "get" the above, then you're home and dry; if you don't, then you never will. To sum it up, the best part of owning a Bentley Turbo is its capability of turning a really bad day at work into an irrelevance by the time you've exited the car park.
All of the turbo cars are capable of being driven very fast - almost to the pace of your XJR. The differences are in the other things. So the important production milestones are :-
( unreliable dates, sorry - this is all off the top of my head )
Mulsanne Turbo. Hugely fast, but no handling mods over a late Silver Shadow. Very entertaining.
Turbo R. Same car, but with 100+% roll stiffness increase, giving a very creditable agility improvement.
1985 Twin headlamps added, improving resale value
1986 Carburettor dropped in favour of mechanical injection
1989 Intercooler added
1990 electronically-controlled dampers
1991 4-speed electronically-controlled transmission
1994 electronic fuel injection
1995 facelift with thinner bumpers
My choice would be an immediately pre-electronic dampers, which has really very reasonable handling indeed, together with the intercooled fuel injection setup, but not with the less-reliable electronic dampers. Others, I'm sure have different favourites.
Stuart
Having owned three Turbo Rs and currently an X308 chassis XJR, I feel obligated to chime in 
Let me preface by saying that Stuart (2woody) pretty much summed up everything you need to know. I'm in the US, so the spec of the cars differs slightly over here, as we never got the carb'ed versions nor did (I believe) we ever get the Mulsanne Turbo. The only SZs in this country were Royces until the Bentley Eight came to us in '87. Then, in '89, we got our first Turbo Rs. I've owned one of each series we got here, a 20,000 (1989), a 30,000 (1990) and a 50,000 (1996). Definitely prefer the aesthetics of the earlier (20 and 30,000 series) cars over the 50,000 series. Performance was vastly improved on the 50,000 series cars but, as has been said here before, if/when the Zytek EMS has a bad day, it'll make you have a bad day too, as Zytek has no interest in supporting the electronics on these older models.
I felt my '96 rode too "crashy" over bumps but that the non-Active Ride 20,000 series car was too wafty. I resolved this by making my third Turbo R a 30,000 series car which meant Active Ride suspension but with 15" wheels hence big, tall squishy Avons which soaked up the crashiness but allowed the Active Ride to do its thing for the handling. Then, I preferred the more classical door mirrors of the early cars as well as the non automatic rear-view mirror---the auto version of which, in the '96, looked as if it had been plucked from a Lincoln Town Car...blech!
Just make sure to find one that has been well cared for and comes with a comprehensive service history, including the big hydraulic services which doesn't just mean a fluid flush--it means ALL hoses throughout both systems getting replaced (and documented!). Apparently, these cars rust like mad in the UK, not so much here in The Colonies, so you'll have to be weary of that if you're in Blighty. Tires (sorry tYres), at least here in the US are limited to ONE choice to be correct--Avon Turbospeeds, which are sold only through main Bentley agents at a massive premium of a price. To fit four new 15" Avons to my '90 Turbo R last year cost me $2,600 USD. Yeah, insane, but I had to do it.
Now, one thing I'll say at the risk of being flamed big time on this board. I loved each of my Turbo Rs for what they were and what they represented. However, I sold the last one and bought a '53 R-Type because I felt that with respect to a performance saloon, the XJR does everything the Bentley does, and does it better, cheaper and, in all honesty--at least for my frame, more comfortably, so I figured I may as well put a proper vintage Bentley in my garage instead. So...the Bentley's seats weren't as cushy as my XJRs, there was no dead pedal in any of them which, on a LHD car, is a necessity in my book, as my left ankle would be sore after a long trip as I had nowhere to 'rest' my foot as in the XJR (and about every other car I've owned, save for Triumphs and MGs, lol). Markup on spare parts, at least here in the US is, in some instances ludicrous, and I was always nervous to leave the car in parking lots for fear of some envious t
t scratching it. With the XJR, it just "blends" in with the surroundings but, when asked, will leave about anything else for dead and in its wake. Oh, and I can get it serviced at my work since I work for a main agent 
Nevertheless, a Turbo R is a great expression of 'olde worlde' English craftsmanship. The wood, the leather, the Wilton carpets are all nicer articles than in most peoples' homes. The 6.75 is a thundering monster of an engine that bellows out torques like its nobody's business, the car represents the last of the truly hand-built motorcars from Crewe and looks damn fine from any angle, inside and out. Would I have another? Of course. But don't expect it to live up to what the XJR is most capable of--at least in performance, even an RT-400 will fall short of what the svelte kitty is capable of but then again, a Bentley is a Bentley aye?
Let me preface by saying that Stuart (2woody) pretty much summed up everything you need to know. I'm in the US, so the spec of the cars differs slightly over here, as we never got the carb'ed versions nor did (I believe) we ever get the Mulsanne Turbo. The only SZs in this country were Royces until the Bentley Eight came to us in '87. Then, in '89, we got our first Turbo Rs. I've owned one of each series we got here, a 20,000 (1989), a 30,000 (1990) and a 50,000 (1996). Definitely prefer the aesthetics of the earlier (20 and 30,000 series) cars over the 50,000 series. Performance was vastly improved on the 50,000 series cars but, as has been said here before, if/when the Zytek EMS has a bad day, it'll make you have a bad day too, as Zytek has no interest in supporting the electronics on these older models.
I felt my '96 rode too "crashy" over bumps but that the non-Active Ride 20,000 series car was too wafty. I resolved this by making my third Turbo R a 30,000 series car which meant Active Ride suspension but with 15" wheels hence big, tall squishy Avons which soaked up the crashiness but allowed the Active Ride to do its thing for the handling. Then, I preferred the more classical door mirrors of the early cars as well as the non automatic rear-view mirror---the auto version of which, in the '96, looked as if it had been plucked from a Lincoln Town Car...blech!
Just make sure to find one that has been well cared for and comes with a comprehensive service history, including the big hydraulic services which doesn't just mean a fluid flush--it means ALL hoses throughout both systems getting replaced (and documented!). Apparently, these cars rust like mad in the UK, not so much here in The Colonies, so you'll have to be weary of that if you're in Blighty. Tires (sorry tYres), at least here in the US are limited to ONE choice to be correct--Avon Turbospeeds, which are sold only through main Bentley agents at a massive premium of a price. To fit four new 15" Avons to my '90 Turbo R last year cost me $2,600 USD. Yeah, insane, but I had to do it.
Now, one thing I'll say at the risk of being flamed big time on this board. I loved each of my Turbo Rs for what they were and what they represented. However, I sold the last one and bought a '53 R-Type because I felt that with respect to a performance saloon, the XJR does everything the Bentley does, and does it better, cheaper and, in all honesty--at least for my frame, more comfortably, so I figured I may as well put a proper vintage Bentley in my garage instead. So...the Bentley's seats weren't as cushy as my XJRs, there was no dead pedal in any of them which, on a LHD car, is a necessity in my book, as my left ankle would be sore after a long trip as I had nowhere to 'rest' my foot as in the XJR (and about every other car I've owned, save for Triumphs and MGs, lol). Markup on spare parts, at least here in the US is, in some instances ludicrous, and I was always nervous to leave the car in parking lots for fear of some envious t
t scratching it. With the XJR, it just "blends" in with the surroundings but, when asked, will leave about anything else for dead and in its wake. Oh, and I can get it serviced at my work since I work for a main agent Nevertheless, a Turbo R is a great expression of 'olde worlde' English craftsmanship. The wood, the leather, the Wilton carpets are all nicer articles than in most peoples' homes. The 6.75 is a thundering monster of an engine that bellows out torques like its nobody's business, the car represents the last of the truly hand-built motorcars from Crewe and looks damn fine from any angle, inside and out. Would I have another? Of course. But don't expect it to live up to what the XJR is most capable of--at least in performance, even an RT-400 will fall short of what the svelte kitty is capable of but then again, a Bentley is a Bentley aye?
Edited by bergxu on Wednesday 26th December 22:33
Since Aaron has done such a good job of narrating the experience, let me just add to something written earlier. If you can find one for a reasonable price, the 1993-1995 cars represent the best years of the Turbo R. While many prefer the later models for being more anvanced and refined, the quality of the interiors is lacking compared to the cars built a few years earlier. Since I currenly own two Turbo Rs and two other SZ cars all built between 1990-1993, I can tell you that the 1993 car is the best of my four cars. I have a theory about this. Production during the recession in the early 90s caused orders to fall off a cliff. Thus a mid 90s Turbo R is in many ways an endagered creature with only several dozen built in LHD and RHD each year. The 1990-1991 production years were explosive as the factory was fulfilling the pipeline of orders from 1989-1990. By late 1992, the global recession had caused orders to dry up. As a result, the craftsmen at Crewe (many were laid off) had ample time to create truly magnificent cars and well built cars. It was during this time that the best cars of the Vickers era were built. They are also the most valuable and collectible from the 1980-1998 era. Not only the Turbo R, but the Silver Spur III, the Corniche IV (and derivative Continental), the Corniche S and last but not least the RR Flying Spur. If you do find one for a reasonable price, just remember that you have a pretty rare car.
totally agree with best turbo r cars are 93--95.individual armrests ,better looking bumpers, and a feeling of fully developed. when you learn how it all works it is very "chuckable " and firm footed. must have avons as very tyre sensitive. have had several turbo bentleys 2 door and 4 and this period was just "right ".also the short wheelbase cars drive better than the 96 on longer wheelbase,not sure why but it's a fact. had a 97 turbo rt and had continuous brake problems, always drumming etc, even with new discs. nice to chat, happy new year to all, Harry.
Ecurie,
It wouldn't be amiss to join the RREC or BDC
The RREC does wonderful weekend workshops run by guys like Steve Lovell. Worth every penny and you get to have your car lifted on a ramp and given a good run over.
Also get it checked out by a reputable indie ( see Steve above) well worth the 200.00 or so
RREC also do a monthly Advertiser and the Website is a mine of info. All honest advice.
One thing i will say is that the Turbo is very different car from the Spirit. My old Spirit trndles along at 70 and enjoys it. My mate Bentley is like a greyhound seeing a Rabbit.
The Crewe Factory said there is a real distinction between the two ( although the turbo suspension setup and interior help) in that you OWN a Rolls-Royce, but you DRIVE a Bentley. Having done both i can understand that
Just dont go for the first one, take your time, The one with your name on isut there, and if i had to change the old lady for a 'bruiser' i would aim for the 90-93 range for reasons given above
It wouldn't be amiss to join the RREC or BDC
The RREC does wonderful weekend workshops run by guys like Steve Lovell. Worth every penny and you get to have your car lifted on a ramp and given a good run over.
Also get it checked out by a reputable indie ( see Steve above) well worth the 200.00 or so
RREC also do a monthly Advertiser and the Website is a mine of info. All honest advice.
One thing i will say is that the Turbo is very different car from the Spirit. My old Spirit trndles along at 70 and enjoys it. My mate Bentley is like a greyhound seeing a Rabbit.
The Crewe Factory said there is a real distinction between the two ( although the turbo suspension setup and interior help) in that you OWN a Rolls-Royce, but you DRIVE a Bentley. Having done both i can understand that
Just dont go for the first one, take your time, The one with your name on isut there, and if i had to change the old lady for a 'bruiser' i would aim for the 90-93 range for reasons given above
silverfoxcc said:
Ecurie,
It wouldn't be amiss to join the RREC or BDC
The RREC does wonderful weekend workshops run by guys like Steve Lovell. Worth every penny and you get to have your car lifted on a ramp and given a good run over.
Also get it checked out by a reputable indie ( see Steve above) well worth the 200.00 or so
RREC also do a monthly Advertiser and the Website is a mine of info. All honest advice.
One thing i will say is that the Turbo is very different car from the Spirit. My old Spirit trndles along at 70 and enjoys it. My mate Bentley is like a greyhound seeing a Rabbit.
The Crewe Factory said there is a real distinction between the two ( although the turbo suspension setup and interior help) in that you OWN a Rolls-Royce, but you DRIVE a Bentley. Having done both i can understand that
Just dont go for the first one, take your time, The one with your name on isut there, and if i had to change the old lady for a 'bruiser' i would aim for the 90-93 range for reasons given above
Thanks for this. A friend is actually a member of the RREC, and I will join up myself. She has a lovely Shadow 2.It wouldn't be amiss to join the RREC or BDC
The RREC does wonderful weekend workshops run by guys like Steve Lovell. Worth every penny and you get to have your car lifted on a ramp and given a good run over.
Also get it checked out by a reputable indie ( see Steve above) well worth the 200.00 or so
RREC also do a monthly Advertiser and the Website is a mine of info. All honest advice.
One thing i will say is that the Turbo is very different car from the Spirit. My old Spirit trndles along at 70 and enjoys it. My mate Bentley is like a greyhound seeing a Rabbit.
The Crewe Factory said there is a real distinction between the two ( although the turbo suspension setup and interior help) in that you OWN a Rolls-Royce, but you DRIVE a Bentley. Having done both i can understand that
Just dont go for the first one, take your time, The one with your name on isut there, and if i had to change the old lady for a 'bruiser' i would aim for the 90-93 range for reasons given above
I will keep you updated with my search.
hdiam1950 said:
had a 97 turbo rt and had continuous brake problems, always drumming etc, even with new discs. nice to chat, happy new year to all, Harry.
Interesting -- only problems I've had with my 97 RT brakes is when I set fire to the front pads driving very enthusiastically in SwitzerlandRoyale,
The Brooklands is a LPT (light pressure turbo). Nice enough but I wouldn't waste my time since the parts are just as expensive as for a Turbo R. May as well go the whole hog. No offense to Brooklands owners but since these cars are so cheap nowadays (relatively speaking), why plunk down for anything but the top dog?
The Brooklands is a LPT (light pressure turbo). Nice enough but I wouldn't waste my time since the parts are just as expensive as for a Turbo R. May as well go the whole hog. No offense to Brooklands owners but since these cars are so cheap nowadays (relatively speaking), why plunk down for anything but the top dog?
bergxu said:
Royale,
The Brooklands is a LPT (light pressure turbo). Nice enough but I wouldn't waste my time since the parts are just as expensive as for a Turbo R. May as well go the whole hog. No offense to Brooklands owners but since these cars are so cheap nowadays (relatively speaking), why plunk down for anything but the top dog?
Thanks but still none the wiser as to what the difference is between an LPT and Turbo? I assume its a performance difference, but how much of a difference does it make?The Brooklands is a LPT (light pressure turbo). Nice enough but I wouldn't waste my time since the parts are just as expensive as for a Turbo R. May as well go the whole hog. No offense to Brooklands owners but since these cars are so cheap nowadays (relatively speaking), why plunk down for anything but the top dog?
Also the Brooklands seems to be very high speced too, so assume that the only difference is the engine?
Yep, Turbo R has full stonking boost pressure. I believe it may have a more firmly tuned suspension setup but I'm not 100% on that. No doubt plenty of Brooklands out there with a high spec, but you'll notice the performance difference between that and an R, so may as well have the king!
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