Following World War II, Rolls-Royce transferred production of its motor cars from Derby to its wartime aero-engine facility at Crewe. For the first time, the company built complete cars rather than chassis only. The first postwar Bentley to be built was the Mark VI, a virtual duplicate (sans radiator shell) of its sister, the Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn. Standard bodies were styled by the company’s own designers with ex-Gurney Nutting Chief Designer John Blatchley adding refinement. This was quite a change in philosophy by the parent company Rolls-Royce, yet it reflected the reality that standardized bodies could be built in greater numbers at its new factory in Crewe, England. Custom coachwork was, of course, available at the owner’s discretion.
Engine capacity was increased to 4,566 cc in 1951, and the standard saloon body was revised with a longer boot in 1952. At the same time, chassis numbering had reached the “R” series, causing this model to become known as the R-Type in late-1952. This also marked the arrival of an optional automatic transmission and twin SU carburetors which replaced a single Stromberg unit. A total of 2,325 R-Types in all configurations were produced through 1955.
| BODYWORK | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BODY TYPE | 4/5 seater sedan/saloon | ||
| NUMBER OF DOORS | |||
| DESIGNER | |||
| DIMENSIONS & WEIGHTS | |||
| WHEELBASE | 3048 mm | 120 inches | |
| TRACK/TREAD (FRONT) | 1442 mm | 56.8 inches | |
| TRACK/TREAD (REAR) | 1486 mm | 58.5 inches | |
| LENGTH | 5067 mm | 199.5 inches | |
| WIDTH | 1778 mm | 70 inches | |
| HEIGHT | 1676 mm | 66 inches | |
| GROUND CLEARANCE | |||
| LENGTH:WHEELBASE RATIO | 1.66 | ||
| KERB WEIGHT | 1880 kg | 4145 lb | |
| WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION | 48.5% front | ||
| FUEL TANK CAPACITY | |||
| AERODYNAMICS | |||
| DRAG COEFFICIENT | |||
| FRONTAL AREA | 2.34 m² | ||
| CDA | |||
| POWERTRAIN | |||
| ENGINE TYPE | naturally aspirated petrol | ||
| ENGINE MANUFACTURER | Rolls-Royce | ||
| ENGINE CODE | |||
| CYLINDERS | Straight 6 | ||
| CAPACITY | 4.6 litre 4566 cc (278.634 cu in) | ||
| BORE × STROKE | 92 × 114.3 mm 3.62 × 4.5 in | ||
| BORE/STROKE RATIO | 0.8 | ||
| VALVE GEAR | overhead inlet, side exhaust (oise) 2 valves per cylinder 12 valves in total | ||
| MAXIMUM POWER OUTPUT | |||
| MAXIMUM TORQUE | |||
| ENGINE CONSTRUCTION | |||
| SUMP | |||
| COMPRESSION RATIO | 6.75:1 | ||
| FUEL SYSTEM | 2 SU carbs | ||
| BMEP (BRAKE MEAN EFFECTIVE PRESSURE) | |||
| MAXIMUM RPM | |||
| CRANKSHAFT BEARINGS | |||
| ENGINE COOLANT | Water | ||
| UNITARY CAPACITY | 761 cc | ||
| ASPIRATION | Normal | ||
| COMPRESSOR | N/A | ||
| INTERCOOLER | None | ||
| CATALYTIC CONVERTER | N | ||
| PERFORMANCE | |||
| ACCELERATION 0-80KM/H (50MPH) | 10 s | ||
| ACCELERATION 0-60MPH | 13.8 s | ||
| ACCELERATION 0-100KM/H | |||
| ACCELERATION 0-160KM/H (100MPH) | |||
| STANDING QUARTER-MILE | 19.1 s | ||
| STANDING KILOMETRE | |||
| MAXIMUM SPEED | 164 km/h (102 mph) | ||
| POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO | |||
| WEIGHT-TO-POWER RATIO | |||
| FUEL CONSUMPTION | |||
| FUEL CONSUMPTION | |||
| UNIVERSAL FUEL CONSUMPTION (CALCULATED FROM THE ABOVE) | |||
| LITRES/100KM | |||
| KM/LITRE | |||
| UK MPG | |||
| US MPG | |||
| CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS | |||
| CARFOLIO CALCULATED CO2? | |||
| VED BAND (UK) | |||
| CO2 EFFIZIENZ (DE) | |||
| CHASSIS | |||
| ENGINE POSITION | front | ||
| ENGINE LAYOUT | longitudinal | ||
| DRIVE WHEELS | rear wheel drive | ||
| TORQUE SPLIT | N/A | ||
| STEERING | |||
| TURNS LOCK-TO-LOCK | |||
| TURNING CIRCLE | |||
| FRONT SUSPENSION | |||
| REAR SUSPENSION | |||
| WHEEL SIZE FRONT | |||
| WHEEL SIZE REAR | |||
| TYRES FRONT | |||
| TYRES REAR | |||
| BRAKES F/R | |||
| FRONT BRAKE DIAMETER | |||
