We consider an extension of the standard electroweak theory with gauge group SU (2) L × SU (2) R × U (1)Ỹ , where the gauge bosons of the extra SU (2) R factor do not couple to ordinary fermions. We show that precision electroweak data and flavour physics provide quite stringent indirect constraints on its parameter space, but still allow for relatively light non-standard gauge and Higgs bosons. We then consider the model phenomenology at high-energy colliders, and observe that in the gauge boson sector present bounds and possible future signals are dominated by Z ′ production. In summary, indirect constraints on the charged gauge boson sector are so tight that observable new effects must be connected either with the neutral gauge boson sector or with the extended Higgs sector of the model.