It weighs 2.4 tonnes, so it needs a big old lump to propel it. A 6750cc engine with a gargantuan truck-derived Garrett TO4B turbo delivers 385bhp at an almost horizontally laid-back 4000rpm. With this you get a monster 553lb ft of torque starting down at 2000rpm in one unyielding wall to within 500rpm of the power peak. It’s got more torque than any other production car in the world.
The R uses a four-speed GM autobox and it will allow the engine to rev out to its 4500rpm red line and, should you adopt its sports mode, will throw lower ratios at you at the merest request.
This engine and gearbox combine with the standard limited slip differential to provide a driveline fully commensurate with a £187,354 car. The turbo does more than merely give the power, it makes it markedly quieter too.
There was never much wrong with the geometry of the wishbone front suspension and semi-trailing arm arrangement at the rear and over the years Rolls Royce and, particularly Bentley, have built considerably on this foundation. So that’s what the R uses and it’s a classic case of "If it ain’t broke, don't fix it".
Rack and pinion power-assisted steering does the job well and the brakes are neither particularly large or exotically specified with plain discs being fitted at the rear.
