Bentley · 1965–1980
Bentley T-series
The Bentley T-series is a luxury automobile produced by Bentley Motors Limited in the United Kingdom from 1965 to 1980. It was announced and displayed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show on 5 October 1965 as a Bentley-badged version of the totally redesigned Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The Bentley T series was available as a four-door saloon and as a long wheelbase four-door saloon. A small number of two-door saloons were built with coachwork by James Young and Mulliner Park Ward and a two-door convertible with coachwork by Mulliner Park Ward was introduced in September 1967. A total of 2,336 examples were produced.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Bentley S3 · Successor: Bentley Mulsanne
All Bentley T-series data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Design
The idea of mass-producing a smaller unibody Rolls-Royce model had been thought since the early-to-mid 1960s. During this time, Rolls-Royce entered into a collaborative venture with BMC, with a view to jointly producing a range of saloons and coupés. Rolls-Royce was thinking in terms of downsizing at this time, a reaction to the general down-turn in demand for their traditional coachbuilt models during the post-war years. As such, Rolls Royce and Bentley started designing a series of smaller unibody downsized luxury saloons with their intention of replacing the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley S1. The car would be the Rolls-Royce/Bentley Java and was derived from the unibody Princess 3-litre and used a 3909cc FB60 six-cylinder engine originally developed for the Bentley Burma saloon, which was built at the same time in 1961–1962. Essentially, the central bodyshell remained the same as the Princess but received Rolls Royce and Bentley style front and rear ends. Later, the whole body was completely revised and now resembled a smaller Bentley T-Series. In 1964, the Bentley Bengal/R-R Rangoon was also developed, essentially a similar vehicle based on the Austin 3-Litre. None entered production and all work was scrapped in 1964. It was the Bentley Burma from which the Silver Shadow/T-Series were closely derived from. The Bentley Burma originally derived from the Bentley Tibet concept car, a standard-sized full-size Bentley car, albeit still unibody developed since 1960. When it was decided to downsize the Rolls-Royce range, the Bentley Tibet bodyshell was shortened and put on a modified Bentley Java chassis and engine and was named the Bentley Burma. The 3909cc FB60 engine was however later abandoned for the 6230cc V8 that was currently in development. A Rolls-Royce vers
Image
The formerly more sporting image of Bentley motor cars differing from Rolls-Royces was long gone and far from being renewed by the time the Bentley T was introduced. Effectively, the two were indistinguishable.
Bentley T2 (1977–1980)
The T was upgraded to the "T2" in 1977, which featured rack and pinion steering, improved air conditioning, rubber-faced bumpers, a new fascia and, for non-federalized cars, a front air dam. Bosch CIS Fuel Injection was introduced for late 1979 and 1980 models for the US and other markets, similarly to the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II. The T2 was discontinued in 1980.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Bentley T-series
- Manufacturer
- Bentley Motors Limited (1931)
- Production
- 1965–1980
- Assembly
- United Kingdom: Crewe (Bentley Crewe)
- Predecessor
- Bentley S3
- Successor
- Bentley Mulsanne
- Class
- Full-size luxury car
- Body style
- 4-door saloon , 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible
- Layout
- FR layout
- Platform
- monocoque
- Engine
- 6230 cc L425 V8 (1965–1970), 6750 cc L410 V8 (1971–1980)
- Transmission
- 4-speed automatic, 3-speed THM 400 automatic
- Wheelbase
- 119.5 in
- Length
- 203.5 in
- Width
- 71 in
- Height
- 59.75 in
- Kerb weight
- 2103 kg
- Related
- Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Rolls-Royce Camargue, Rolls-Royce Corniche/Bentley Continental
- sp
- uk
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q818313CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bentley_T-seriesCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1371873616 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bentley_T-1.JPGCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Anchornetwork · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.