1961 Bentley S2 Continental Four-Door Saloon by James Young

The auction car is one of just 40 James Young bodied S2 Continentals produced during a four-year period and is only one of 2 to be fitted with left hand drive. For context, nearly 2,000 standard, steel bodied S2’s were produced during the same time frame.

This example was displayed at the 1961 Geneva International Motor Show, and later exported to the US. Reportedly benefitting from a decade-old high-end restoration, the car presents quite well throughout and is complete with tools, owner’s manual, copies of factory documents, and desirable Schoellkopf card.

Distinctly more modern and sporting in appearance than standard-bodied S2 models, these James Young Continental S2’s are fantastic looking cars, full of striking lines and delicate details atop a hand-shaped aluminum canvas of extraordinary scale.

The dark burgundy worn by the auction car is quite complementary, and is said to be a respray performed as part of a larger restoration performed in the 2010’s. Note the Lucas lamps, pale yellow pinstriping, fender mirrors, and Marchal B-pillar parking lights.

Factory style 15” steel wheels and covers wear vintage looking Firestone tires, though the trunk-mounted spare wears Hankook rubber.

In keeping with the sportier exterior, the car’s dashboard is reminiscent of a period open-top British roadster, albeit an extremely high-end one. Closer inspection reveals much of the same heavy, polished metal switchgear, and elegant white-on-black gauges of standard S2’s, excluding the reverse-sweep, prominently redlined tachometer unique to Continentals.

Leather upholstery on the front and rear seats as well as the door trim panels was replaced as part of restoration. Note the cool period Blaupunkt push-button radio, tinted sun visors, and air conditioning which enters the cabin via vents sprouting from the rear parcel shelf.

Beneath a traditional (and very neat) longitudinally divided hood resides a 6.2 liter V8 breathing through twin SU carburetors. This alloy block unit produced an estimated 200 hp, or a full 30% more than the preceding S1’s F-head six, and endowed alloy-bodied Continentals in particular with exceptional performance for the day.

Additional Continental-spec upgrades include leading-shoe front brakes and a higher rear axle ratio.

The auction car’s engine is said to have been overhauled as part of the above-noted restoration, and to benefit from new fluids within the past year. Note the upgraded A/C compressor, one place where a modern upgrade is most welcome for its added efficiency and power.

The auction car is sold with a Schoellkopf card and copies of factory documentation, including a build sheet detailing options such as a high-frequency horn with cutoff switch, a speedometer in kilometers, electric antenna, and planned use as a display car at the Geneva International Motor Show. The car is also sold with the correct tools and handbook. Viewers with a keen eye will notice the vehicle with both white walls and black wall tires. This is the same set of Firestone tires flipped inside and out, there are not two sets of tires.

The words ‘aluminum coachbuilt Bentley’ are heavy hitters among connoisseurs of fine vintage cars, and for a myriad of reasons not limited to their scarcity, beauty, performance, and heritage. This one’s extraordinary and well-documented history only add to its mystique and desirability.

Estimated $170,000 - $190,000.

VIDEO LINKS:

Cold Start

Motor Running

Cruise

Exterior Tour

Interior Tour 1/2

Interior Tour 2/2