1955 - 1959 Bentley S1 Type Continental
Posted by David Kinney
There has long been a difference between sports cars and cars of a sporting nature. No one would accuse a Bentley Continental of being what we normally think of as a sports car, yet, as a sporting car, the Continental is at the top of the list for cars built just after World War II. To Europeans, the name itself denotes high-speed, long-distance touring, as Bentley made it known that its Continental was “the fastest four-seater in the world” at the time - a boastful claim for any vehicle.
The Continental debuted in 1952, a derivative of the R-type sedan, which itself was adapted from the 1946 Mark VI. It employed a 4.5-liter straight six, developed from the venerable Rolls-Royce motor that dated to the 1922 Twenty. Just 208 of these H.J. Mulliner-bodied fastbacks were produced over three years, stunning cars that expertly blended aerodynamics and beautiful Italian design with staid, English traditionalism.
Continentals were built to be a touchstone among Bentleys. In his excellent book Bentley: Fifty Years of the Marque, Johnnie Green writes, “The Bentley R-type Continental became a classic in its own time, and a collector’s piece without experience of which no connoisseur of motoring can consider his life complete.”
The S1 Continental was introduced in 1955, featuring a larger bore that pushed displacement to 4.9 liters. The commensurate increase in power was certainly appreciated, as by that time many Bentley customers were ordering their cars with automatic transmissions, power windows, and power steering, features that added to the weight of the car. The great V8 era of the 1960s had not yet begun, and S1 Continentals could still make do with this enlarged six-cylinder. (This wouldn’t last for long - although many purists might disagree, the later S2 and S3 Continentals sorely needed their V8s for the era of high-speed motorways, autoroutes, and interstates.) The S1 Continental’s purported top speed of 110-120 mph was certainly adequate, if not unexpected for its time.
The Continentals were designed by in-house Rolls-Royce stylist J.P. Blatchley, and developed primarily by Ivan Evernden. They were built for speed, being lightened aluminum versions of the standard steel-bodied cars, fitted with lighter bumpers and seats. When the S1 was introduced, both Park Ward and Mulliner produced coupes, while only Park Ward had a catalogued convertible. Of course, as with any European luxury car of this era, a number of specialist coachbuilders bodied, or in some cases rebodied, Continentals.
While production of the standard steel S1 Bentley totaled 3,072 cars (plus 35 long-wheelbase models), only 431 or 432 S1 Continentals were built. It has since joined the R-type Continental as the most collectible post-W.O. model.
(From the April 2005 issue of Sports Car Market magazine.)