1953 Bentley R Type Mulliner Drophead Coupe

SALE AGREED

See us at Beaulieu Autojumble Stand R389  -  11th to 13th Sept 2026.

As far as we can tell, this car is 1 of just 3 built to this elegant & attractive design on the R Type chassis, as one of those was left hand drive, this makes really does make B73RS a desirable rarity. Sharing certain similarities, including the whole frontal aspect, tail design, divided windscreen and general profile, the car could be considered to be a convertible version of the well-known ‘Lightweight Saloon’ created by H.J. Mulliner.  It is in fine, nicely sound & smart condition, appealingly finished in Burgundy with red leather interior, cosmetically mature in a very charming way. The hydraulically operated hood is working well, The history file which accompanies the car includes various invoices for work carried out & parts supplied, an ownership record, MoT certificates & more. The car runs & drives nicely, is fitted a new set of very suitable radial tyres, and is offered serviced, prepared & MoT tested. Admired by many!

Chassis No. B73RS                               Reg No. RMA 764

Snippets: Tractors, Allard & Experimental Aircraft

The first owner of B73RS was the engineer Edward Boydell (1896/1962), in 1931 he took over the firm of Muir-Hill Ltd of Manchester whose products included sprung road wheels & bucket loaders for Fordson tractors.  Boydell also made dumper trucks, high horse power tractors & other mechanical items including railway engines which were used in the quarries of Meeth China Clay, Blaenau Ffestiniog Slate, Ravenglass & in New Zealand.  In 1959 the company was sold to Winget Ltd of Rochester who moved the factory to Gloucester.

In 1961 the Bentley was bought by Guy Warburton (1902/91), a chemical engineer with the family concern of Harrison Blair & Co Guy was a keen motorist (he raced motor-cycles on Southport Sands) & he was the owner of the first Allard!! In 1952 the team of Sydney Allard, Guy Warburton & Tom Lush won the Monte Carlo Rally in their Allard – the first time a car driven by its namesake had won!  After being widowed Guy remarried in 1952 & he and his wife Helen (she was 23 years younger than Guy) later emigrated to Auckland, New Zealand.  His descendants are still involved in rallying but this time in Range Rovers!

In the early 1970s B73RS spent some time in the Province of Quebec with D. P. Reid prior to being sold to John Henry Shell of North Carolina – in 2017 whilst piloting his experimental Super Six, N426KS had an engine failure and crash landed the aircraft just outside of Morganton, this resulted in a total loss of aircraft but the pilot survived to tell the tale.

In 1989 B73RS was reimported was acquired by Eddy Shah of the Messenger Newspaper Group, later owners of the drophead included S. Norbury of Mobberly and the noted car collector Jim Boland of Eire.