1954 Bentley

• One of just four drophead coupes by Graber on the R Type chassis
• Believed to be unique amongst the four as the only car with a split windscreen
• Delivered new to Geneva 
• Used as an ambassadorial car in Uruguay for several years
• A part of collections in the US, Germany and most recently Switzerland
• Recently reviewed and prepared by our workshop team
• Complete with FIVA identity card

Carrosserie Graber are perhaps the most well-known and successful coachbuilding house based in Switzerland, producing over 800 bodies on several different makes of car, from Bugatti, Duesenberg and Packard in the pre-war era, to Alvis, Delahaye and of course Bentley in the post-war era. In our opinion, few designs by Hermann Graber came better than their drophead coupes on the Bentley Mk VI and R Type chassis. Chassis No B42RT is one of just four cars built by Graber to their drophead coupe design on the R Type chassis and we believe it is unique amongst the four built, having been fitted from new with the split front windscreen which featured on the Mk VI option that came before. It was originally supplied in January of 1954 by Garage de l’ Athenee in Geneva to Monsieur Alfredo Gorostiza whose delivery address was listed on the build sheet as the Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. It was specified with locks to the bonnet and petrol filler, the speedometer in kilometres and export bumpers. It is understood that the car was exported shortly after to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, where it was used by Monsieur Gorostiza as his own personal ambassadorial transportation. It remained in South America until the early 1980s when sold to a collector in the United States. The car then became part of a collection in Germany in 1994 and returned to Switzerland in 2002 where it has since resided with two different owners. It was brought back to the UK in late 2025 and has since been reviewed and prepared by our workshop team. This elegant Bentley R Type is in very good condition throughout and combines stylish looks with a very enjoyable driving experience, with the hood either up or down. The manual gearbox on the R Type is simple to operate and very enjoyable to use. Chassis No B42RT comes complete with FIVA identity card, history file, copies of the original factory build sheets and research from the Graber archives. For us this car ticks so many boxes. It is very rare, with original open coachwork, original manual transmission, matching numbers and is in excellent prepared condition. It represents an extremely rare opportunity to acquire one of the four examples built and should be given serious consideration by admirers of Bentley motor cars with exotic coachwork. A true great and a car we are delighted to be offering for sale. 

Bentley Motors made a complete departure from their former policy by announcing in 1946 an entirely new model which was factory built throughout. The Bentley Mk VI fitted with their design of “standard” all steel bodywork was built at Crewe and began life with a 4 ¼ litre engine. It was later up rated to a 4 ½ litre engine and the basic Mk VI shape was adapted slightly in 1952 with the introduction of the Bentley R Type. The new model was almost identical to the Mk VI up to the rear doors however, the boot was enlarged giving greater luggage capacity and arguably a more attractive and balanced overall profile. Approximately 2,000 standard steel R Types were produced between 1952 and 1955 making it a very successful model for Bentley in the immediate post war years. A limited number of cars also received custom coachwork by the likes of Park Ward, H.J.Mulliner and James Young, giving discerning buyers a range of options.