• Beautiful red interior

• Excellent wood

• Super rust free bodywork

Although considered the ‘entry level’ Bentley between 1984 and 1992, theres nothing budget about the Bentley Eight. Sharing much with the Mulsanne, it was sprung a little firmer for tighter handling, gaining automatic ride height adjustment in 1990.

Originally the model was only planned for the UK, but proved so popular it was soon available in Europe and America.

The Eight was bought new from Rolls Royce and Bentley dealer Appleyard Rippon in Leeds in March 1987 where it returned for its 3 month service, having already covered 3500 miles, and again for its 6 month service in June 1988. 
After this period it moved south and was in the care of HR Owen, Mann Egerton and SMAC RR Bentley service agents until 1992 before heading north to Birmingham and the care of Evans Halshaw, a Rolls, Bentley and Ferrari dealer, before AB Price Automobile Engineers took on the annual care program. 

From 2005 the car lived in the warm dry climate of Salamanca, close to Madrid in Spain before coming home in 2009.

The Bentley comes with its original dealer book pack including the hardback owners handbook, various information leaflets and service book with stamps into the new millennium. 

It also comes with a sheaf of previous MOTs showing genuine mileage and the car being on the road continuously over the years.

Complimenting the crisp white exterior, the interior is a rich and deep red, the claret leather featuring black piping and showing just a little patina to the hide and they are electrically adjustable of course, while the deep pile carpet looks splendid. 

The red leather continues into the door cards and lower dash where it is unmarked and looks fabulous against the golden hues of the wooden door caps and dash board, where traditional chrome fittings and black dials meet the modern of dual upper and lower zone climate control and cruise control on the column shift.

The steering wheel is now a wood rimmed Moto Lita, and above, the leather head lining is  very good aside from the very rear where the glue has come away over the rear window.

In the boot the black carpet is excellent and feels deeper and softer than the cabin of most cars, and the Bentley tool kit is present.

On the outside defects are few and far between, the panels are unblemished and the paint is very good with a deep shine and almost no stone chips and the black, gold and red pinstripes break up the flanks of the big car.

The chrome brightwork is excellent, the big radiator grill being superb. 

The only notable items being the nearside rear wheel arch lower trim coming away a little and the same corner’s bumper side panel having taken a slight scrape.

The alloy wheels are unmarked and the Avon tyres have good tread but are showing signs of age.

Mechanically the car appears sound. It starts on the button and idles quietly, sliding into gear with no issue and manoeuvring for the shoot it moved smoothly and stopped without pulling. Under the bonnet it is clean and dry with no signs of leaks and a reassuring patina of dust suggests nothing has been cleaned up.

The car was last MOT’d in March 2021 when it was also serviced. A new air conditioning compressor fitted in August 2021, costing nearly £1000 to supply, install and re-gas.

Looking under the car the floor pan looks honest and tidy.

Theres nothing quite like these cars for opulent, traditional luxury, with a bit more of a sporting feel than their Rolls Royce stable mates. The deep carpet, soft leather and fine wood are a cut above anything this side of a six figure window sticker, coming from a time when ‘luxury’ meant the quality of the hide and timber rather than the number of infotainment functions.

This example is in very good condition, with good miles for the year, the interior is not worn (and in this writers opinion the best colour for a leather interior) and the outside in splendid condition.