1969 Bentley T1 - T-Series Saloon

One of only 1,703 first-series Saloons built

Highly elegant colour combination

In Austria for forty years

Registered to only two owners since

When Rolls-Royce unveiled the Silver Shadow in 1965, it amounted to something of a revolution. Gone were the separate chassis and bodywork of old, replaced by unitary construction, independent suspension and a complex hydraulic self-levelling system together with high-pressure brakes inspired by Citroën. Naturally, all of this was also available with a winged B on the bonnet. There, the car was simply called the Bentley T.

Technically, there was little to separate the two. Beneath the bonnet sat the familiar 6.2-litre V8, enlarged to 6.75 litres from 1970. Power was transmitted through a three-speed automatic, while performance figures were traditionally treated with a certain discretion in Crewe. There was enough. Full stop.

Externally, the differences from the Rolls-Royce were largely confined to the radiator grille, badges and a handful of details. And that was precisely the Bentley’s problem. Anyone already spending a great deal of money on a motor car apparently tended to want the Spirit of Ecstasy thrown in as well. While tens of thousands of Silver Shadows were built, the T-Series remained a rare sight.

Yet its very understatement was perhaps its greatest appeal. The Bentley offered the same lavish comfort and elaborate engineering, but dispensed with some of the grand entrance. A luxury car for people perfectly capable of showing what they had, but who did not necessarily feel the need to.

In 1977, the T became the T2, gaining rack-and-pinion steering, revised suspension and a number of detail improvements. The basic principle changed little: Rolls-Royce engineering with a Bentley grille. Or, to put it a little more kindly, British luxury with slightly less theatre. The T-Series remained in Bentley’s range until 1980.

SBH5230 was first registered in England on 21 February 1969. The Bentley has now been in Austria for four decades. After just over a year in Styria, the distinguished Saloon passed in 1988 to a newspaper publishing company in Linz. Until 2004, the car remained registered to the publisher of a classified-advertising newspaper. No further keeper was subsequently entered in its documents.

Since 2011, the T-Series Bentley has formed part of its current owner’s collection, seeing little use but nevertheless being driven regularly on Austrian trade plates. The dark green paintwork and red leather interior wear the traces of almost six decades with considerable charm. It is the combination of those two colours that makes this Bentley such an eye-catcher: British, elegant and rare.