1962 | Bentley S 2 Continental

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As one of only 23 RHD 4 door S2 Continentals by James Young the rarity of these wonderful cars is something we almost now take for granted

This particular car is one of the finest examples we have come across, indeed having only had two family owners from new with a history folder that dates back to before delivery with correspondence between B O David Esq, General Manager of Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd & A F McNeill of James Young Ltd detailing the special requests of the first owner Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Pitman

The extent of extra specification lavished on BC 51 CZ is quite extraordinary, a total of 34 orders and 17 sub-orders were all considered in great detail before being settled upon. James Young, supplying dealer Broughtons, Bentley & Lt. col. Pitman were all involved in the process as is documented

Choosing a favourite special order is not easy and can change as you come to appreciate her idiosyncrasies the more time you spend with her, the lovely coach-lines go brilliantly with the velvet green and rear passengers have wonderfully useful chrome plated brass handles making ingress & egress that bit easier

If however we were forced to settle on one special order as our 'favourite' it would have to be the superb green lights to the rear which ensured that Lt Col. Pitman could be easily spotted by his Regimental convoy as he took the lead out front - very Bentley indeed

Lt. col. Pitman was clearly quite a short man with an extra hole at the front of the Drivers seat runner specified as well as a removable cushion to be stored away in the boot for when he wasn't driving

The mountings in the boot lid for said cushion are still there but alas the cushion has now gone, of course there were other special orders such as GB plates, rubber stripes in the overriders & the coach lines design, all of which and more are detailed on the original specification sheets & drawings

During Lt. col. Pitmans custodianship she was serviced annually with supplying dealer Broughtons and records of this fill only a portion of the 10 folders (yes that's correct, it is not a mistake ten folders) accompanying her, given in detail a storied account of her charmed and well cared for life

The second keeper took over at the helm in 1988 after Lt. col Pitman had covered just 65,000 miles and continued in the same vein of regular maintenance with only appropriate purveyors

P&A Wood, Ristes Motor Co Ltd, JEG Automotive, Peter Fisher & most recently Hillier Hill have all ensured the fine running of this car has been guaranteed

More over she was given a bare metal respray, engine rebuild & retrimmed interior in the 1990s, since when she has only covered circa 20,000 miles

The respray was in her original colour of Velvet Green and even the coach lines were applied in the same gold and red hues

Originally Lt. col. Pitman had specified three coach lines, two red with one gold in between and a signet half way along the side of the car, the second keeper honoured his fine choice of colour but omitted the signet and opted for the more elegant double coach line as opposed to the triple

The seats were naturally all trimmed in the finest Connolly leather and the carpets similarly are of the highest quality, the samples for both are still in the history folders

It may be taken as read but also present is the original owners manual

More recently, in 2013, the chassis was given a restoration by renowned restorers Clark & Carter Restorations Ltd

The immaculate door shuts, bonnet lines & finishing, that can only be found on an aluminium bodied James Young car, are of course exactly as you would hope

She drives as elegantly as she appears in the photographs, with the smooth V8 pulling her ever so gently, oodles of mid range power, silky changes of the 4 speed gearbox, supple suspension and very reassuring brakes - against other motorcars of the period these really were imperious

To find an example in such honest and true condition is extraordinary indeed and we feel lucky to have her in our midst presently

Just been serviced by our team here and ready for her third owner

The first two photographs you see in the collection above were taken on the 2023 Highland Tour which our beautiful Bentley was rightfully invited to take part in, the exclusive tour featured many other famed marques and models from Bugatti to Aston Martin

The opportunity to take part in events like the Highland Tour is another benefit of owning a motorcar such as this. With kindred spirits enjoying their cars together appreciating one another's company and gaining from the associations made. Amongst the high profile names in the drivers list of the 2023 Highland Tour were captains of industry, athletes & royalty.