Why do I want to down this? What is wrong with me? Let’s get through the basics: This is a 1992 Bentley Continental R. The post-war history of Bentley isn’t pretty, becoming mostly a brand barely distinguishable from its sister company Rolls-Royce. The first car to change this pattern was the Bentley Continental R, which harkened back to an era when Bentleys were Bentleys and the brand stood on its own. It was also the first Bentley in decades to have its own unique body. At launch, the Continental R featured a turbocharged 325-horsepower 6.75-liter V8 mated to a GM 4L80-E automatic four-speed. These are not world-beating specs now, but this was a big deal in the early ’90s. Almost any German equivalent from the era is probably a smarter choice and likely a cheaper one, though Classics World says it’s not the worst idea: These sell for not-unreasonable prices and I definitely considered buying a black one listed on Craigslist in Charlottesville, Virginia for what seemed like six years at a curiously cheap $11,500. I should probably want a W140-derived C140 CL500, but what’s the fun in that? Now compound this weird desire by the fact that Sir Elton John’s former Bentley Continental R is now for sale at auction. This has made me the madman across the water, because I can see myself buying and importing this car. A little history: Bought new in August 1992 by Sir Elton John, via his management company William A Bong Limited, and he kept it for four years until November 1996 when the previous owner bought the car, keeping it until now. Do I want paperwork that says “WILLIAM A BONG LMTD” on it? Yes, yes I do. There’s more: Hidden speakers! I’m in. This will probably go for way more than the approximately $25k of the current bid. Princess Diana’s Escort just sold for $850,000, so somewhere between $25k and $850,000. Thankfully, this puts it out of my price range. Why do I want this car? Is it the chance to dress up like glam-era Sir Elton and roll into Radwood like the gender-bending King of England? Is it because my middle name was derived from an Elton John song (I’ll let you figure that one out)? What is wrong with me? [Editor’s Note: Matthew Rocketman Hardigree? – JT] Please explain to me why this is a terrible idea. Top image via Cars & Classic, inset Elton John “Greatest Hits” Of course it is also likely to be an Investment. In time, you might sell it — especially at BaT — for more than you had in it. Plus, you would forever be known as one who owned Elton John’s Bentley. So maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all! (obviously) Buy it Matt! Sounds ideal for an LS swap. A routine brake job on these runs something like $5K. Anything complicated is going to be silly, if not stupid expensive. The theme song for these is pretty much “Good bye yellow gold bricks …” if you want to keep it on the road. Brake jobs tend to be trivial work. Any reason not to DIY? Are the pads priced like they were made out of compressed eminent pelts? ” Depending upon the extent of the brake job, where you live, and where you take the car for servicing, you will pay between $600 (to cover just the cost of the brake pads without labor) and $3,800 for a complete brake job (which involves replacing pads and rotors on each wheel).” Recent head injury? these terms seem like something that seemed clever and intelligent once, and now just sound like something between fakery and elitism. can we stop it? Yeah if the occupants of the interior have just spent their evening in the back seat (in this case a mental picture which would make me want the car less) it would be nice to have the reachable door handles when they’re done. Since my parent’s Malibu had a latch on the rear of the front seat backs to flip them forward I’m sure the Bentley does also. For example, bolted, linked, tied, joined, instead of mated. Or, I don’t know, obtain, locate, acquire, procure, attain, for source. Is there no other words? I should work on that It’s common metaphor in British bike mags, and I’ve heard it from plenty of English friends as a general term for anything worn-out or not worth repair.
