Lot 468: 1958 Bentley S1 Standard Steel Sports Saloon

To many connoisseurs the Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars of the Fifties and early Sixties were the last cars displaying the traditional craftsmanship for which Rolls-Royce had become world-famous. Their separate chassis allowed an uncommon elegance of coachwork design, either by the Crewe factory itself or by independent coachbuilders such as H.J. Mulliner, Park Ward and James Young; the unitary construction of body and chassis of all subsequent models all but ended such a traditional association. The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud and Bentley S series, announced in April 1955, employed such a chassis. Power was provided by the straight six, 4,887cc engine of the R-Type Continental producing an estimated 158bhp which, via the four speed automatic transmission, allowed a top speed of 100mph. Supplied by a well respected Bentley specialist, this good quality early SI Sports Saloon offers reliable motoring and comes with a full one year's MoT test certificate and a comprehensive history file. This includes numerous bills for works undertaken throughout its life, not only general maintenance but also improvements and areas of restoration dating back to 1996. Twelve years earlier, in 1984, the car had been returned to Great Britain having been in America for six years.Its appearance on these pages is not the first time it has been in the public eye. In November 2001 it appeared on the front page of Classic Car Weekly which featured a comprehensive road test of the car between Ipswich and Newmarket by Martin Hodder. Finished in burgundy over silver and with MoT test certificates dating from then to the present day, including a current one valid for 12 months, this most elegant of touring cars is in good condition throughout and would certainly benefit from closer inspection.