The oldest Bentley T-Series, a standard saloon in Shell Grey, has returned to Crewe after 59 years as part of the brand’s Heritage Collection
Images: Bentley
Sympathetically restored and retaining much of its original componentry and running gear, the world’s oldest Bentley T-Series has been reunited with its former press office registration number of 1900 TU and added to the Bentley Heritage Collection.
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 off the production line prompted the decision to recommission it, preserving as much of the original car as possible.
After a group of Bentley apprentices started the process of dismantling and assessing the car, the recommissioning of the T-Series was entrusted to the expert team at P&A Wood, specialists in the preservation and restoration of classic Bentleys and the company’s partner for Heritage Collection projects.
Major challenges for the team to overcome included sorting that missing interior and dashboard, a wiring loom in pieces without a detailed diagram, corrosion around the rear subframe and previous poor-quality crash repairs.
Mike Sayer, Head of the Bentley Heritage Collection, said: “The T-Series is one of the final two pieces of the puzzle to complete our rejuvenated Heritage Collection. Together with our T-Series Mulliner Coupe, this revitalised sedan completes the Bentley heritage story of the 1960s and 1970s, and is now an outstanding example of the model, which was the first Bentley to use a unitary monocoque construction.”
