1960 Bentley S2
“ A super example coming from long-term ownership, with an excellent file of original paperwork and is featured in James Taylor's book on the marque. ”
Being offered as part of our curated auction in conjunction with the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts Club Annual Rally at Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire on the 26th – 28th June’26.

Background
The Bentley S2 hails from a time of peak badge engineering by Rolls-Royce. As such all that physically separates the S2 from the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud is the flying B, a few other badges and the radiator cowl. Despite this, buyer demographics were far from interchangeable between the sibling marques. In the early 1960’s Bentley’s pre-war sporting heritage would still be remembered by many, unlike that of Rolls-Royce’s which petered out well before the Great War. As such a Bentley driver tended to value the direct sporting DNA of the marque despite precisely none being evident in the cars of the period. A Bentley owner was more likely to drive themselves and more often drawn from the ranks of entrepreneurs, the self-made and captains of industry. The Rolls-Royce badged cars were still often the preserve of the landed classes.

Given their proclivities, the Bentley brigade must have been excited by the arrival of the S2 in 1959. Whilst externally unchanged, the heart of the machine had benefitted from un upgrade. Gone was the 4.9-litre straight-six-cylinder engine in favour of the new Rolls-Royce developed L410 6.2-litre V8 unit. The extra mid-range urge provided by the new unit would have been most welcome to an enthusiastic Bentley driver even if some felt the earlier straight-six was quieter and more refined in operation. The S2 itself was produced for just three years with just over 2,300 being built. The L-series engine in various configurations, however, would go on to power several generations of Bentley right up to the Mulsanne of the 2010’s.

Overview
That business-person bias amongst the Bentley owning cohort is borne out by this outstanding S2. The car was supplied by dealers Rossleigh Ltd of Stirling via their subsidiary Grassicks of Perth. The S2’s inaugural keeper was a Mr George K Smith of the Forfar Potato Company Ltd, with the car being registered for his use in April 1960 against the registration number WSR 100. Mr Smith had specified the fitment of Irvin lap and diagonal safety belts and a factory fitted headrest to the front passenger seat. Mr Smith parted with the princely sum of £5660 14s 2d for the considerable privilege.

Mr Smith would use the S2, one presumes, to transact the business of the Forfar Potato Company for the next 12 years and approximately 89,000 miles. At that point the current owner, Frank, purchased the S2. Mr Smith retained the WSR 100 registration number and a 1960 period 1960 Angus number of 8726 SR was allocated – a number the Bentley still possesses today.

Frank ran the S2 for both business and pleasure for roughly five years before deciding that this Bentley was a keeper. At that point he commissioned Bentley dealers, Appleyard Rippon in Leeds, to bring the S2 back to as near new condition as was possible. This process took from August 1977 until April 1978 at a cost of £3,774. Work undertaken included the fitting of four new wings, new sills, new front and rear bumpers, over riders, wheel trims and a full re-spray.

Since that point the Bentley has never been used during the winter months, and the bodywork has received only minor cosmetic repairs to keep it in good condition. Main dealers or specialists who had previously worked for either Rippon Bros or Appleyard Rippon have serviced the S2 every year for the past 48 years. After a full 54 years this delightful S2 is now ready for just its third owner to date.

Estimate: £22,000 - £27,000

View current bid price here: https://www.themarket.co.uk/listings/bentley/s2/d6e32f73-60ee-45a4-af34-29d6a42baf14