The Bentley S2 is a
luxury car
A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars.
The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...
produced by
Bentley from 1959 until 1962. The successor to the
S1, it featured the new
Rolls-Royce - Bentley L Series V8 engine and improved air conditioning made possible by that engine's increased output. Power steering was also standard, and a new dashboard and steering wheel were introduced. Some early S2s were built with the earlier
S1 dashboard.
A high-performance S2-derived Continental edition was also produced.
1,863 standard and 57 long-wheelbase S2 car chassis were built
between 1959 and 1962. Almost all were fitted with standard factory bodywork. A number had
coachbuilt
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
bodies by
Park Ward
Park Ward was a British coachbuilder founded in 1919 which operated from Willesden in North London. In the 1930s, backed by Rolls-Royce Limited, it made technical advances which enabled the building of all-steel bodies to Rolls-Royce's high st ...
,
Hooper,
H. J. Mulliner & Co., and
James Young.
S2
Announced at the beginning of October 1959
[Display Advertising ''The Times'', Friday, 2 October 1959; pg. 5; Issue 54581; col D] the S2 replaced the S1's
straight-six engine with the new aluminium
Rolls-Royce - Bentley L Series V8 shared with the
Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. It displaced 6.2 L (6230 cc, or 380 cu in), and offered significantly improved performance.
As advertised in ''The Times'', Friday, 2 October 1959:
[
Of the 1,863 standard S2 models produced, 15 had H. J. Mulliner & Co. drophead coupe bodies. Of the 57 long-wheelbase cars, five had James Young bodies and one a Mercedes-Bentley yachting station-wagon body by Wendler.][
]
S2 Continental
An "S2 Continental" chassis was built with higher performance engines and higher gearing for lighter bodywork. 388 were built, bodied by the same group of coachbuilders as the standard S2.
Gallery
File:Bentley S2 hb.jpg, Bentley S2
standard saloon
rear view
File:1962 Bentley S2 Mulliner Drophead Coupe.JPG, Bentley S2
drophead coupé
by H J Mulliner 1962
File:Bentley Continental S2 3157641144.jpg, Bentley Continental S2 2-door saloon by H J Mulliner
File:1962 Bentley S2 Continental.jpg, Bentley Continental S2 cabriolet
by Park Ward 1962
File:Bentley Continental S2 Flying Spur 4 door.JPG, Bentley Continental S2
4-door saloon
Flying Spur 1961
by H J Mulliner
File:1959 Bentley S Continental Flying Spur (H. J. Mulliner ) (18355719411).jpg, Bentley Continental S2
4-door saloon
Flying Spur 1959
by H J Mulliner
References
{{Bentley ownership & road car timeline
S2
Bentley S2
Luxury vehicles
Convertibles
Sedans
Cars introduced in 1959