Many car enthusiasts will tell you that one of the biggest issues with modern manufacturers right now is that they don’t offer a stripped-down, bare-bones version of their flagship models. This primarily concerns performance cars, or even just remotely sporty vehicles, which used to be sold with next to no options while preserving the must-haves: a limited-slip, A/C, and some sport seats. In the same vein, Bentley offered a model simply called the Eight that slotted in below the Mulsanne and the Turbo R, priced just below the critical £50,000 mark. This 1988 Bentley Eight is listed here on craigslist for $12,500.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Jack M. for the find. If you ordered an Eight as it came from the factory, you’d get cloth seats, steel wheels, and the iconic slotted grill was swapped out for one with a mesh-style design. I’m also noticing what looks like a single-outlet exhaust, which would also be a departure from the conventional dual exhaust found on the Turbo R. Ironically, the model proved quite popular, but Bentley didn’t end up making very many, with just under 2,000 produced. I can only imagine the bean counters realized that if the model proved that popular, they were likely losing money – especially since this was still a hand-built luxury car.
Even with a limited standard equipment list, Bentley would still let you option it out as extensively as you wished. If you were a sensible Bentley shopper, you likely realized the cost savings for the base model with no real penalty in terms of luxury equipment or comfort made good financial sense. The dash still features classic woodgrain trim, with thick carpets under your feet. The radio controls are old-school and rudimentary, but it still works. The original owner of this Eight opted for the leather seats, and while the front buckets show some modest wear and tear, it still presents well for 56,000 miles.
The back seat looks practically unused, and the seller notes it still comes with the original owner’s handbook and roadside tool kit. Those small details are always meaningful to me, as it shows the owner(s) felt it was important to keep those factory-installed components with the car. Power-wise, the Eight produces 215 horsepower and 339 lb-ft of torque channeled through a 3-speed automatic. My guess is this Bentley floats down the road with no real sense of urgency; you’ll want to step up to the Turbo R for that sensation of speed. The asking price is reasonable, but slightly under $10,000 seems like a better number to me.
The reason manufacturers don’t offer stripped down models is two fold..they cost almost as much to build, and they don’t have extras that the manufacturers can mark up to insane levels..no profit there. I notice in this tidy Bentley a GM Delco 2000 radio that you’d find in almost any GM car of the time.. I wonder if Bentley used other GM parts? I wouldn’t mind having this car. It should be easy to maintain, and easy to fix most problems. And it just looks elegant and timeless.
Transmission is a 3 speed GM400? I think?
The Bentley Eight occupied the same space in the Rolls lineup that the base Dodge Omni did among Mopar L-bodies (among themselves of course, as carlines they were at opposite ends of the market) – there wasn’t much on an Eight/Omni that was really different from the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit or Plymouth Horizon respectively, but if you wanted a hotted-up version of either it’d be from the brand with ” – Boys” amended to it.
Cloth upholstery on a Bentley (or Rolls) likely wouldn’t be about saving a few bucks on the order sheet but a matter of preference, with most of that preference coming from the Middle East and Japan.