1957 Bentley Continental S1

Rolls-Royce and Bentley supplied 'body-read' bare chassis up until World War II, with the frames they created featuring some of the era's most advanced suspension, brakes, and engines. The chassis was delivered to the coachbuilder of the buyer's choice where it received coachwork to their needs and specifications. The Coachbuilder most closely associated with Bentley was H.J. Mulliner.

Following World War II, Rolls-Royce introduced the Silver Dawn in 1946 and it would remain in production through 1952. Bentley's first post-war luxury car was the Mark VI 4-door standard steel sports saloon, produced from 1946 to 1962. The Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, introduced in 1949 and produced through 1955, was the company's first car to wear a factory-built body which it shared, along with its chassis, with the Bentley Mark VI until 1952. The Bentley R Type was the second series of post-war Bentley automobiles, introduced in 1952 and built through 1955 when the Bentley S (S1) arrived.

The high-performance and exclusive R-Type Continental fostered a reputation as a highly capable road car of supreme luxury, thanks in part to its aerodynamically designed aluminum coachwork paired with a modified version of the six-cylinder, 4.6-liter engine. After July 1954, engine displacement grew to 4.9-liters. At the time, it was the fastest four-seat car in production at the time.

The Mark VI incorporated an all-new 4.25-liter inline-six engine with overhead intake and side exhaust valves, commonly referred to as an F-head design. These were among the most reliable, durable and easiest to work on engines made by Bentley / Rolls-Royce. The R-Type had a 4.5-liter version with twin SU Type H6 carburetors paired with a four-speed manual transmission or a four-speed automatic.

The Bentley S
In 1955 these models, except the Silver Wraith, were replaced by the Silver Cloud and S1 Bentley utilizing the same engine enlarged to 4.9 liters. The Silver Cloud and S1 Bentley were identical but for the radiator shell and nameplates.

The S1 gained more generously sized standard steel saloon bodies manufactured in pressed steel with stressed skin construction. Aluminum was used for the hood, trunk lid, and doors. The wheelbase was three inches longer at 123-inches and its length was nearly a foot longer (211.75 inches). The suspension became softer with electrically operated control of rear dampers, and the brakes and steering were improved. The engine continued to displace 4,887cc and it was paired with a standard four-speed automatic gearbox, with the ability to select individual ratios. In 1957, the chassis wheelbase grew to 127 inches.

The engine had a 3.75-inch bore and 4.5-inch stroke, with 6.6:1 compression, and twin SU carburetors. This would be one of the final models to use this engine which had first been used for the 1922 to 129 Rolls-Royce Twenty.

Production continued until 1959 when the Silver Cloud II and Bentley S2 were introduced, which were basically identical except for a new V8 engine. The total production of the S1 was 3,027 including 145 with coachbuilt bodies. An additional 35 examples were built atop the long wheelbase with 12 of those wearing custom coachwork.

The Bentley S Continental
Like its predecessor, the Bentley S1 had a high-performance version known as the Continental. It was introduced six months after the introduction of the S1 and wore lightweight drophead coupe bodies created to special order by Freestone & Webb, Park Ward, James Young, and H.J. Mulliner & Company. A pre-production example was built for the Bentley factory by Pininfarina.

The S1 Continental wore aluminum coachwork, had a raised compression ratio, and a longer final drive.

Bentley Motors Ltd. built 431 S1 Continentals with 69 of those receiving Park Ward's Design Number 701 coachwork - a low-profile, four-light, two-door saloon with seating for four. Approximately 24 of these were originally built in left-hand drive configuration.

The Continental S1 Flying Spur (Design Number 7443) debuted in late 1955 wearing a design credited to George Moseley, chief designer at H.J. Mulliner. It is believed that sixteen examples were built in left-hand drive configuration by Mulliner.

The H.J. Mulliner Fastback Sports Saloon, Design No. 7400, was known as the 'Corniche II' and it differs from the R-Type Continental in its stretched lines, but continued to wear modest rear fenders and its sleek 'fastback' rear end.

33 examples of the left-hand drive Continental coupé were built by Park Ward.

by Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2019