When you consider how much badge-swapping GM has done between its standard-issue and luxury models over the years, it’s amazing how many people still consider an Oldsmobile an Oldsmobile and a Cadillac a Cadillac, and so on. Heck, they even did it with the ill-fated Cadillac Cimarron, which was just a fancy Chevy Cavalier. But it wasn’t just Detroit that did this, as Bentley and Rolls-Royce played fast and loose with their vehicle identities. However, the Turbo R sedan like the one shown here on eBay was a meaningful attempt to create some distinctions in the company lineups.

Namely, Bentley sought to create an actual performance model out of its cut-from-marble sedan that was otherwise known as a Rolls-Royce with a different front end. The Bentley recipe was not overly complicated for building a performance sedan, but it was meaningful: bolt on a Garrett turbo to the otherwise standard engine and let it rip. That single turbo shaved three seconds off the run to 60 and allowed the big Bentley to reach a top speed of 140 miles per hour, all while utilizing an archaic GM 3-speed automatic gearbox. Candidly, the later Turbo Rs went to a more useful 4-speed, and those are the cars to buy, IMO.

The Bentley was still a Bentley in every other meaningful way. The interior was plastered with high-grade wood trim, acres of leather, deep carpeting, and a workmanship quality that simply wasn’t matched by other manufacturers, even in the luxury car contingent. While many companies built high-end models, they seemingly couldn’t match the level of quality that Bentley and Rolls-Royce provided as standard equipment. Of course, those high-end treatments all go to hell in a handbasket in cars that aren’t looked after, but examples like this one still look and feel incredibly luxurious.

The Turbo R had 297 horsepower on tap, but it was the torque figure that really took your breath away (and helped this incredibly heavy sedan move out at a respectable pace): 487 lb-ft of torque is no joke, even by today’s standards, and it represented a huge dose of thrust that made powering the turbocharged sedan down the interstate an absolute joy. Unlike a Mercedes-Benz 500E or BMW M5, the Turbo R did it all its own pace, never feeling rushed but also never feeling slow, either. It’s just a Bentley experience that has been near impossible for any other manufacturer to replicate – which makes cars like this one so very special to own.