This is the world’s oldest Bentley T-Series, and it’s been fully restored

Despite being left to rot under a tarpaulin at the back of a warehouse for decades, the engine in this now-gorgeous Bentley “burst into life”. They certainly don’t make ‘em like this anymore, which is why Bentley has gone to great lengths to… make ‘em like this once more.

Welcome to the coolest saloon you’ll see today, then. It’s a 1965 Bentley T-Series, originally used as a “company trials car” and press demonstrator for that year’s Parisian auto show, which then slipped into the ether and away from Bentley’s grasp for 59 years.

Having found it, and discovering it was in fact the first and therefore oldest surviving T-Series Bentley in existence, the company thought it’d give it a good going over with a sponge.

And some hammers. Gentle hammers, mind, to preserve “as much of the original car as possible”. Though missing quite important bits – like the dashboard, interior trim, wiring loom – and faced with corrosion around the rear subframe and “previous poor quality crash repairs”, that 6.23-litre, 225bhp V8 was in surprisingly good nick. All it needed was a thorough service.

Ditto the gearbox, which required but a “minor adjustment”. Ditto the rear axle (outside the subframe) that only needed new seals.

With replacement parts tricky to source, the restoration team found an early donor Bentley – early so it’d remain as period-correct as possible – and went about [deep breath] replacing those missing items, swapping out the rusty rear wing, refitting the dash, and then refreshing the hydro-pneumatic ride control and ‘Vibrashock’ mounts.

Then it was thoroughly repainted and then machine-polished to the sheen you see before you. The entire restoration was apparently done in “the old Crewe way”, which sounds faintly intimidating if you’ve ever watched a sub-Guy Ritchie gangster film.

The T – now restored to its 1965 status and therefore much more likely to hit its 1965 performance metrics of 0-62mph in 10.9s and a 115mph top speed – will live its best life on Bentley’s Crewe site as a road-legal display of how they don’t make ‘em like this anymore.