Live like Australia's meanest powerbroker in his personal one-of-one Bentley Turbo R L.
Revered as a stockbroking savant before famously being embroiled in controversy, there's a reason this car looks like it means business.
Adjusted for inflation, this one-of-one Bentley cost over $1,000,000 new.
It’s something that royalty – and only the elite – get the chance of commissioning for personal use. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why most examples were ordered in mundane and boring colour combinations.
You can only imagine how uptight and stiff those types were in the 1980s when deciding what colour to order their next Bentley in. It’s why most were specified in a boring shade of silver; with an equally-boring light interior, and with god-awful timber inlays that belong more in a furniture store than in a big, badass and turbocharged Bentley.
Cue Rene Rivkin however, a power-broking celebrity stock trader who came into obscene wealth and power in the 1980s. Famous for his on-air shenanigans with John Singleton, his eccentric personality saw him furnish his lavish abodes with the finest of art from Sotheby’s and only the best cars Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Ferrari.
Story goes that Rivkin wondered into Eggerton’s in London – a now-defunct coach-builder that bodied Bentleys pre-war and later became a retailer – and commissioned this car for his London residence. Referenced in his biography, ‘The Bentley’ was chauffeur-driven and escorted Rivkin’s distinguished guests to-and-from Heathrow when in town, and also around local districts like Park Lane to peruse its wares.
This special-order example features many one-off options like a large ‘writing’ table with matching ebony and red highlights, a double-decanter pack with custom-made holder for drinking on the go (in the back), and a custom-made storage area designed specifically to house millions of CDs.
Rene was massively into his music. On top of many, many unique options, this car was also ordered in black, with a full custom colour interior featuring extremely rare ebony black inlays, red-on-red leather and Mushroom-coloured headlining, and a hand-painted ‘thick over thin’ body stripes in his own signature colour.
Such examples rarely exist because characters like Rene Rivkin – with the means and mind to order such a vehicle – are just as rare, too. After use in the United Kingdom, Rivkin personally imported the car into Australia in the late 1990s where it was famously seen around the big ends of town right-until his death.
Not many are bold enough to order their $1,000,000+ car truly for themselves – but this is one such instance.
About the car pictured – 1988 Bentley Turbo R L (ex-Rene Rivkin)
This Bentley Turbo R L was ordered in 1988 and is powered by a turbocharged 6.75-litre hand-built British V8. It has covered 53,437 miles from new, or 86,000km.
It is a rare long-wheelbase model and ordered in gloss black with a full red-hide interior and cherry red carpets.
Factory options include thick-over thin fine lines in a customer specified colour, bespoke writing table to slot into nearside cabin trimmed in red leather and with a matching ebony veneer, a custom rear-centre seat section to hold compact discs, and a machine-recessed ‘drinks tray’ to the underside of the rear seat panel that accepts 2 glasses to the front and one decanter to its rear edge.
It comes with a detailed service history from new including paperwork from Bentley UK confirming its specification and UK service history, paperwork from Rivkin Group, an unopened Bentley/Rolls-Royce demo tape, a matching Bentley towel, and more.
The car is in outstanding condition both mechanically and cosmetically and has been owned by two known car collectors since leaving the Rivkin estate in 2006.
Quick facts
What makes this car special:
- ex-Rene Rivkin Bentley Turbo R L
- One-of-one configuration with bespoke options
- Unique colour configuration of black, a full-red leather interior and ebony inlays
- Low mileage – 85,000km
- Full service history and genuine provenance
- Exceptional condition
I hate weekends because there is no stock marketRene Rivkin – entrepreneur, investor and stockbroker (6 June 1944 – 1 May 2005)