- The very first Bentley T-Series returns to the Heritage Collection
- First registered on 28 September 1965 as a company ‘trials car’
- Car found after years in storage as a non-running example
- Recommissioned over 18 months of painstaking work at Bentley specialists, P&A Wood
- Team encountered many challenges, from wiring loom and accident damage to missing dashboard
(Crewe, 12 September 2024) The world’s oldest Bentley T-Series, a standard saloon in Shell Grey, has returned to Crewe after 59 years. Sensitively recommissioned and retaining much of its original componentry and running gear, it takes its place in the Bentley Heritage Collection of road- and race-cars that together describe all 105 years of Bentley’s history.
Bentley T-Series
T-Series chassis number SBH1001 was used as a company trials car and featured in the original press coverage following the model launch at the 1965 Paris Salon de l’Auto. When found under a cover in storage, the car had not run for decades and was missing several key areas – including its entire interior.
The car’s significance as the first T-Series – or equivalent Rolls Royce Silver Shadow – off the production line prompted the decision to recommission it, preserving as much of the original car as possible.
