1961 Bentley S2 Restoration Project
This is my 1961 Bentley S2, chassis number B512CU. It needed restoring, so I saved as much as I could for a couple of years and looked for a restoration shop that was right for this project. I found the perfect place. Actually, two places.
I made a page called "The List" to identify what was needed most. I've also posted the best "Before" photos on a page, with a number of additional ones on the "Photo Album" page. I've also posted updates on the "During" and "After" pages.
The Flying B graces the front of the grille.
The Bentley grille is the only difference from the Rolls.
The Flying B graces the front of the grille.
My name is Michael. My nickname is Tintin because I am a fan of the illustrated book series The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. I own almost every English first edition of the series.
I've written a little more about me in regards to the restoration of this fine automobile on the About page. If you like, you may contact me at MichaelTintinHoward@gmail.com or fill in the form on the Contact page.
I hope you enjoy the pictures of this stunningly beautiful Bentley S2 standard steel saloon. And what makes it so? The style of the S Series fixes it in its time, and yet it is timeless. The backward sweeping teardrop shape and the huge scale of its fenders are the culmination of styling begun in pre-war models. They are of exaggerated proportions, to be sure, but they flow from the front to the back, carrying the eye along its graceful curves. No model since would have such shapely fender lines. Today's Bentleys have those lines, but they are just a faint allusion to this classic. And not less important, the headlights, distinctive grille, and Flying B inspire nostalgia for the early days of Bentley Motors and its racers at Le Mans. (More about those headlights below.)
Shortly after those glory days, Rolls-Royce bought Bentley Motors in 1931 when the Great Depression sent the company into receivership. Rolls-Royce saw Bentley as a clear threat, so they assimilated it. If W.O. Bentley had been as good a businessman as he was an engineer...well, if wishes were horses we'd all have a ride. The company became Rolls' subsidiary "Bentley Motors (1931), Ltd." and that's why several Rolls models of the 20th Century have Bentley equivalents. The business model worked well for a few decades, until sales swung heavily toward Rolls. The strategy had made Bentleys redundant. Thank goodness the Volkswagen Group came along and separated Bentley from her oppressor. As "Bentley Motors" once again, the company was given autonomy to do what it does best. Just look at its magnificent offerings today. But I digress.
In my opinion, the S Series is the queen of her era. Her sister, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, puts on airs. (That grille!) The Cloud is entitled to put on all the airs she wants, of course. But the Bentley has all the poise and charm with little of the intimidating ostentation. That may be why the S Series outsold the Silver Cloud.
If I were to compare the models within the series, I would pick the S2. I'm biased, but I think I would still pick the S2 even if I had no history with her. The S2 has the upgraded engine. The S1 had a remarkably silent and smooth straight-six, but the weight of the vehicle requires more power to really perform. The new 6.8L V8 filled the bill, with somewhere around 200 hp. The company never published its exact rating, and why would they need to? But they did keep improving that engine through the decades, until the last one was fitted in a 2020 Mulsanne I believe. It is the V8 with the longest continuous production in history. Check out its story in Car & Driver here. (To think, I have one of the first of those!)
The S3 dropped the height of the grille a few inches and introduced the quad headlights, which continued in the T Series and beyond. I'm sure the company knew that the S Series had nearly run its course, and they wanted to update it a bit. The quad headlights foreshadowed a new style and gave the model two more years of life.
Although I acknowledge the company's reasoning, I think the test of time is on my side. We still see S Series and Silver Clouds in movies these days (and we used to see them in TV commercials — mustard!) Their mere presence in a shot evokes a feeling of established wealth, status, power, and influence. And if the car happens to be shot in motion, well! It lends even more dignity and majesty to the scene. Evidently, the original design was a tour de force. It is made inferior by any tweaks whatsoever.
The quad headlights are a botched facelift. Those headlights changed more than just the face of the car. They erased an important part of its DNA. The two round headlights hark back of those venerable racers — the 4½ Litre and the 6½ Litre — and W.O.'s masterpiece the 8 Litre. They also place the vehicle in space and time, i.e. 1950s high society. Imposing 1960s quad headlights onto the 1950s design spoils the effect.
Bentley Motors (1931) introduced the S1 in 1955, and the S2 in 1958. The S3 models began delivery in 1963 and ended the next year. By the mid-1960s, car makers had abandoned the round flowing lines in favor of squares, rectangles, boxes, and fins (at least in Detroit). It was all about rockets and aerospace. The age of the stately S Series was over. Bentley moved on to the T Series and other models. Although the quality remained high, the styling never stood out from other makers, especially through the malaise of the 1970s. And there's no Bentley that reflects the extravagant styles of the 1980s. It would take the Volkswagen Group's intervention to bring Bentley back to its racing roots and restore the mark to prominence. But that's another story.
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