1961 | Bentley S 2 Continental

• Graceful two-door HJ Mulliner coachwork

• Major refurbishment carried out between 2012 and 2014

• One of only 388 such cars to be built 

• 6.2-litre V8 engine, power steering and air-conditioning

During the 1960s, the Bentley Continental was the car of choice for everyone from captains of industry to rock stars, and this HJ Mulliner two-door saloon is a beautifully presented example of this coveted model. 

The build card for ‘BC40.AR’ records that the chassis was delivered to Rolls-Royce’s Lillie Hall premises on 20 November 1959, and the completed car was dispatched to London dealer HA Fox & Co on 1 April 1960. Specified with ‘full refrigeration’ (air-conditioning), plus electric windows and a Marchal Fulgar airhorn, it was finished in Black Pearl with a Blue interior. 

Its first owner was Ellis Stanning of Lloyds Pharmaceuticals Ltd in London, and he took delivery of his new Bentley on 13 April 1960. Later owners included the Hon William Grosvenor, who bought the car in October 1971. Grosvenor was the Eton-educated son of Lord Ebury, who’d been a Lord in Waiting to King George VI.

The Continental must subsequently have been acquired by a US-based enthusiast, because it was from there that it was repatriated to the UK by marque specialist P&A Wood in early 1989. After selling it to Yorkshire-based Stuart Dennison, P&A Wood were commissioned to carry out a bare-metal respray, as well as a complete interior retrim. 

The top end of the V8 engine was also rebuilt, and the Bentley was sold later that year to Neville Cormack OBE. It passed to his daughter in 1992, before being acquired in 1998 by an enthusiast who had a fine collection of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars in Ireland. The Continental was kept there in climate-controlled storage under the watchful eye of a full-time caretaker. 

In 2011, it was sold to a new owner, then passed to the current custodian the following year. He had a major refurbishment carried out between 2012 and 2014 by Hampshire-based specialist A&S Engineering, including an engine rebuild and a comprehensive refurbishment of the engine bay.

Recent work carried out by Gordon Dale Enterprises Ltd includes the fitting of new axle bushes and a differential pinion seal, new anti-roll bar bushes, and the installation of new front seatbelts. 

From its handcrafted aluminium body to its cosseting interior and imperious driving position, this well-maintained Bentley S2 exudes quality and grace. Being one of only 388 HJ Mulliner two-door Continentals makes it an even more special example of this aristocratic British classic.