Lot 021: Bentley S1 Saloon - Withdrawn

When Bentley introduced its new S-Type in 1955, the imperious saloon drew gasps of admiration from the motoring press. The latest Bentley model offers a degree of safety, comfort and performance that is beyond the experience  and perhaps even the imagination  of the majority of the world's motorists, gushed Autocar. "It's a modern magic carpet which annihilates great distances and delivers the occupants well-nigh as fresh as when they started." Retrospectively known as the S1, it was a much larger and more imposing car than the R-Type that it replaced. A greatly strengthened chassis provided 50 per cent more torsional rigidity than the outgoing model and the suspension and triple line braking were also improved. Power came from an enlarged version of the old six-cylinder, overhead inlet/sidevalve exhaust type head, now in 4.9-litre form as pioneered in the Bentley R-Type Continental and good for an easy 110mph. Most cars had a four speed automatic gearbox and much-needed power steering was fitted from 1956. The beautiful shape of the S1 used the car's length to its full advantage with the interior featuring all of the usual appointments expected from Crewe's finest. This 1956 car has been in regular use for the last eight years as a wedding car and is said to be in good running order throughout. The gearbox was rebuilt in October 2007 at 63,013 miles along with a rebuilt starter motor and a full service at a cost of £4,900. The brakes were overhauled in 2006 and new king pins and bushes fitted in 2000 at 62,148 miles. While the rear seats are in fairly good condition, the leather on the front seats is now badly worn and could do with some remedial work. The paintwork has also seen better days and would also benefit from improvement. Currently taxed and with an MOT until April 2009, it comes with a fair amount of history and most old MOTs back to 1995 (at 56,293 miles) showing regular light use.