1960 Bentley S2 Standard Saloon

Bentley turned to V8 power as the sixties approached as a way of keeping up with its luxury rivals, especially in America. A radical change was on the cards in 1959 as Bentley felt their faithful straight-six engine was getting a bit 'long in the tooth' and in the search for a more modern power unit, they turned to the General Motors inspired 6,320cc all-aluminium V8. The new engine was an entirely new departure for Bentley and caused some consternation amongst traditional Bentley customers, however, in execution, their worries were short lived as the new power unit delivered more performance with unparalleled smoothness setting the standard for the rest of the century and ultimately the S2 set the benchmark for others to follow.

The extra power produced by the V8 enabled Bentley to expand the list of features available on the S2 and they included fully automatic transmission, power-assisted steering, electrically operated ride control, redesigned and more flexible air conditioning, electric rear window demisters, and press button window lifts.

This particular Bentley S2 4-door standard saloon was first registered as '9591 XI' on 1st April 1960 to a Mr P. Barker-Jones of Stafford, who was to own the car until 1976 when he sold it to a Mr Bruno Piazza of Richmond Surrey. There are invoices in the history file from Martin Bolitho Motor Engineers Ltd, dated 6th September 1978 to Mr Piazza at his Brussels address, for comprehensive service work totalling £1,600, with VAT at 8%! It's thought that the car returned to the UK around 1986 with ownership history lost until 1995 when it was acquired by a Mr Thierry Allard of London.

The next owner was the much-celebrated comedian, Mr William 'Billy' Connolly Esq. who purchased the car from Jack Barclay Ltd on 17th April 2002 for £45,000. A copy of an old V5c and invoices are made out to Mr Connolly at his old baronial home, 'Candacraig House', Aberdeenshire. Upon purchase, the car was sent to The Bentley Service Centre, London for a full recommission totalling in excess of £7,000. Clearly the commitments of touring meant 'The Big Yin' didn't use this S2 as much as he would have liked, as further bills from Jack Barclay up to 2005 suggest. Later that year the car was sold to a Mr Giueseppe Fiumano who transferred maintenance duties to London-based Bentley and Rolls-Royce specialist, Chris Moroney. Our vendor purchased the car in 2009 and continued sending it to the aforementioned specialist in the following years.

Finished in Dust Grey over Garnet with a tan leather interior, and showing 39,591 miles on the odometer, this car is supplied with a V5c and an MoT until 2nd August 2017. This charming old Bentley S2, much like its fabled famous previous owner, requires a little tender loving care to bring it up to black tie standard.