1981 Bentley T2 BKD378X

1981 Bentley T2

Chassis Number:  BKD378X

Registration Number:  BKD378X

Finished in Caribbean Blue Metallic with a Luxan Beige leather interior, this 1981 Bentley T2 featured in the BBC sitcom White Gold between 2017 and 2019.

It’s been in the seller’s care since he bought it from Hanwells of London in July 2021, at which point the odometer read 82,051 miles. With a still-lowly 93,000 on the clock, BKD 378X’s last service was in July of this year.

The 11,000 miles he’s covered in the past five years tell a lovely story: He’s driven from Wiltshire to Yorkshire and back three times, a journey that revealed the T2 is still very comfortable and rewarding to drive, not least because of the wonderful conversations he’s had with folk along the way.

His affection for the Bentley shone in every sentence of our conversation with him, but then he has “never given any trouble” with it and has “just enjoyed it!” 

He’s also honest enough to admit that he’s not terribly mechanically minded, preferring to entrust maintenance to a specialist. However, he says he was so besotted that he used to set aside a day each month to clean it inside and out, that being his way of showing his faithful companion that he appreciated it.

Further proof of the seller’s fastidiousness comes via an advisory-free MoT plus a comprehensive condition report from a well-regarded specialist. Dated the 3rd of July 2026, this independent, third-party assessment of the Bentley’s condition is reassuring for the next owner.

Doesn’t it look magnificent? While the usual sober metallics suit the T2’s discreet lines very well, we think this one’s Caribbean Blue finish (paint code 9500683) looks even better.

Mind you, that presence is bolstered by the fact that it has had running repairs made to its bodywork over the years, all of which appear to have been carried out so well that we only became aware of the work having been done by reading the comprehensive paperwork that accompanies the car.

The chromework, which is extensive and contributes so much to the car’s considerable authority, is in a very good condition; with almost no tarnishing, pitting, or other signs of aging, your only job will be to maintain it.

Which would be to continue a tradition because this car has been very well looked after: The four headlamps were changed for new Cibie items in 2018, and the bulbs upgraded. This job set its then-owner back around £750 for parts and labour, but it was worth every penny as they worked even better than standard right up to the point the outers were again replaced in 2024.

It sits well too, with a perfectly judged stance that shows nicely even gaps between the top of each wheel and its respective wheelarch. Good gaps between the panels too, plus the sort of shine that only comes with decades of dedicated polishing.

The 15-inch wheels boast very good full-width chrome and body-coloured wheeltrims. The whitewall tyres are matching 235/70R15 Avon Turbosteels too, the very best possible tyre for a luxury motorcar like this.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. 

The Luxan Beige leather interior, trim code VM3234, was professionally re-Connolised in 2015 and 2016. The result is a pleasing interior that has just enough of a patina to give it the character we love but nowhere near enough to have you reach for your wallet to get it rejuvenated. 

Headrests were still a bit of a novelty back in the late seventies and early eighties, so the fact this T2 has them on its electrically-adjustable front seats makes it a bit of a rarity. So much so, in fact, that the seller tells us that it’ll cost you a solid four-figure sum to buy a pair. These ones were also upgraded in 2019, the ones that had been fitted a year earlier being exchanged for wider versions.

How’s that for fastidious?

And it continues because it’s got rear head restraints too, the dashboard lighting was professionally converted to blue LEDs in 2018, and the cruise control system was repaired two years ago. Hanwells also went through the air-conditioning system in 2024, so that still blows so cold that Our Man, who is notoriously hard to please, described it as working “beautifully”.

In fact, everything we tested worked as it should but then that won’t come as too much of a surprise, will it?

Nor will the fact that the extensive walnut veneer is both shiny and well-varnished. It is also free of chips, cracks, and other damage, including the elegant mirror frames that sit in either C-pillar.

You are unlikely to be surprised to see that the door apertures are all clean and the door lights all work either, nor by the presence of a set of very good blue overmats that protect the equally good carpets, or the taut, clean, and undamaged headlining.

The cabin is filled with glorious details like the height-adjustable armrests in the front doors, burr walnut picnic tables in the rear of the front seats, rear foot rests, slots to store cassette tapes in the centre console, and beautifully labelled switches and controls that still operate with a precision no touchscreen’s haptic feedback can ever hope to match.

A modern Alpine headunit has been neatly fitted beneath the factory original Blaupunkt that still sits in the dashboard.

The Bentley’s service history booklet and the invoices on file record the following from 1986 onwards:

12.09.1986 and 32,940 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

27.08.1987 and 36,126 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

23.08.1988 and 41,338 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

01.08.1990 and 47,747 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

23.08.1991 and 51,447 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

26.08.1992 and 54,422 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

21.09.2003 and 64,523 miles – service by Harvey Wash Ltd

18.05.2010 and (unknown) miles – service by E.R. Bauly (Engineering)

28.04.2011 and 68,215 miles – service by Hanwells of London

23.10.2012 and 71,492 miles – new sparkplugs, rear pads, fresh brake fluid, and five litres of engine oil by Bramwells of London

15.12.2015 and 76,420 miles – service by Hanwells of London

16.01.2018 and 77,178 miles – service by Hanwells of London

30.01.2019 and 79,775 miles – service by Hanwells of London

21.07.2021 and 82,051 miles – service by Hanwells of London

16.07.2022 and 86,081 miles – service by Hanwells of London

30.06.2023 and 88,525 miles – service by Hanwells of London

17.07.2025 and 91,530 miles – service by N Sandell plus much more at a cost of £6,48907.07.2026 and 93,287 miles – service by N Sandell

The last two invoices from N Sandell, an independent Bentley and Rolls-Royce specialist, are worth examining in detail, not least because they tally more than £7,500 between them…

It also received new valve stem seals in 2013, and much more from folk like Hanwells of London and The Chelsea Workshop among others. The invoices are on file and some of ‘em are biggies, so why not sit back with a cuppa and revel in the completeness with which it’s been looked after?

Little surprise then that the car drives beautifullyl, with the T2’s rack-and-pinion steering, simpler and tauter hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension, and smaller steering wheel making themselves felt. Reassuring is the absence of the sort of knocks and rattles that are so ubiquitous on lesser examples as to be almost unremarkable. 

The V8 starts immediately, with good oil pressure and a healthy charge to the battery, even at idle. It also revs with enthusiasm and an appealing exhaust note.

The engine and underbonnet area are both clean and well-ordered without being prissy. You could detail them further if that sort of thing makes you happy, but few would accuse you of being slovenly if you were to maintain them exactly as they are either.

This includes the underbonnet sound-deadening pads, which are in a very good condition.

It would be hard to find one in nicer condition then this with such comprehensive maintenance.  It drives as if it were new.