The name “Bentley Boys” was given to the group of wealthy young sportsmen who virtually single-handedly kept W.O. Bentley’s company alive in its early years by buying, promoting, and racing its products. Mike Couper, a new car distributor and gentleman sportsman of some renown, was one of these, partnering with Tim Birkin to build the famous supercharged “Blower” Bentleys, and he remained faithful to the marque long after it passed out of W.O.’s ownership. In fact, he may well have been the final “Bentley Boy” to compete in a Bentley automobile in international competition when he drove an R-Type in the 1949 Rallye Monte-Carlo, the first running of this fabled event after World War II.

Couper continued annual participation in the Rally for years, using a selection of Rolls-Royce and Bentley products. In 1953, he took the wheel of this R-Type Standard Steel Saloon, chassis number B68SR, accompanied by Pat Fillingham and Peter Tabor. The car was equipped with, among other unique features, special snow tyres and a factory-supplied cylinder head similar to that of the famed R-Type Continental; this may well have been the first standard R-Type to have been so-equipped by the factory. Factory build sheets for the car, which are on file, record it as a “factory trials car”, further confirming that it had been set up by the factory for just such activities. In addition, the car was set up with left-hand springing for driving on European roads, and with slightly lowered suspension.

The trio of Couper, Fillingham, and Tabor began the 1953 Rally from Glasgow, Scotland, one of several sanctioned starting points, subsequently passing through Wales and into London via Dover and the cross-channel ferry. Upon arrival in France, they paused for lunch before continuing through dense fog into Belgium, then the Netherlands, and finally on icy, treacherous roads into Paris. At that point, the Bentley proceeded into the snow-covered mountains.

Upon entering Monte Carlo, the car finished 45th in a timed test on the Col de Braus mountain pass; the Couper crew’s timing was out, and they placed 45th. Fortunately they were awarded the Concours de Confort, a significant honour bestowed upon the best-detailed car at the conclusion of the Rally, as well as a special Coupe d’Or honouring Couper’s contribution to the event over the years. The successful journey had been made only with time to rest at fine hotels and for meals at some of Europe’s finest restaurants.

Following the Rally, the Bentley resided quietly in Europe until 1968; it was then exported to California, where previous owner George Giese discovered it. Today, Mike Couper’s Monte-Carlo Bentley remains well preserved and largely original, with the exception of a quality repaint undertaken in its original colour in the early 1990s. It is complete with a full set of tools, as well as a tyre pump, jack, all oilers, and the owner’s handbook. In addition to the aforementioned paperwork, its journey to Monte Carlo is well documented, including photography, in Mike Couper’s book, Rallying to Monte Carlo.

This car is perhaps the most significant of R-Type saloons—a car prepared for competition by the last of the “Bentley Boys” and winner of the Concours de Confort in one of the most significant motoring events in the world.