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Bentley Corniche convertible


1984, SCBZD0009ECX07778, Ocean blue



On the boot lid this Bentley is provided with an identification plate with "Continental" on it. However, it is not a Continental but a Corniche convertible. The Bentley Continental was introduced for model year 1985 (the letter "F" on the tenth position of the chassis number) and the first Continental is the SCBZD0001FCH09030.
The Corniche on this page has the next typical Corniche properties:
- Black in stead of coloured bumpers
- Grille and mirrors not in the colour of the car (there are also Continentals ordered with blank grilles)
- No trim on the fender arches
- The chairs and head rests
- The shape of the dashboard and the gauges.

This car has had owners in Switzerland, Fort Lauderdale (Florida) and the Netherlands (at least two).




The rear side has the plate "Continental". It must have been fitted later. In most cases a Continental has a plate "Bentley" on the left side, but that is missing on this car.
At the rear the double exhaust pipes strike that are not fitted any more on later Continentals. They point out the lack of a catalyst, which is confirmed by the double digit "0" on the positions 6 and 7 in the chassisnumber.




On the Continental (and the Corniche II) a lengthened B-style was introduced to make it easier to reach the safety belts. This extra length, that was already built in in all 1985 convertibles, is not fitted in this 1984 Corniche.













The interior is coloured magnolia and is provided with blue piping.




The right door has a storage compartment.




The dashboard hasn't yet the half-moon shaped centre console that was fitted in the Continentals.







The story of this pressure meter is not known to the owner of the car.




The left door is provided with a liquor cabinet. Customers could choose to order a cabinet in each door.




At first the car had the original Corniche hub caps. The first Dutch owner replaced them by these Brooklands light alloy wheels. The Continentals are provided with aluminium wheels with five in stead of three spokes in the holes.














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