Miguel Sánchez
Bentley engines began to roar overhead. Amid the roar of bullets and planes shot down on the Western Front of World War I, powering fighters like the Sopwith Camel, a true legend of the skies. Then came cars, cars of enormous reliability, ideal for endurance racing. Not surprisingly, the British took victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in a row.
Paradoxically, although Bentley survived battles and races, it could not do so in the face of the Crack of '29. Rolls Royce rescued her in 1931, and since then they have been united as one of the most successful marriages of the British engine. Luxury and elegance; sportiness and resistance. Under these premises appeared classics as majestic as this Bentley Continental S1 Sport Saloon auctioned a few days ago by Bonhams. Actually, the BC1BG chassis has a very special story ...
LAST BENTLEY WITH INDEPENDENT CHASSIS
Manufactured in 1959, this Bentley Continental S1 is one of the last units of a model produced in just four years. Derivative From the design of the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, the Continental S1 is the latest independent chassis Bentley. This facilitated the development of different bodies, some designed by Park Ward, Freestone & Weeb or Pininfarina. This one in particular is signed by the legendary bodybuilder HJ Mulliner & Co., which was absorbed by Rolls exactly the year this unit was manufactured.
Since their union, the Rolls and the Bentleys have been nearly identical visually. However, it is in the Bentleys where there is sometimes a little more carefree. It is clearly the case with this Continental S1, a car that, despite being a “metal living room"Has a curious line 'fastback'. All a display of design in which elegance and sportiness go hand in hand to create one of the most impressive British gran turismo.
A grand tourer powered by a 6-cylinder in-line 4.887 cc engine, the last descendant of the one who equipped the Rolls Twenty of the 20s; a mechanic capable of moving the 1.900 kilos that this Bentley gives on the scale. As in the golden age of Le Mans, Bentleys have always been heavyweights.
25 YEARS WITH A SIR, AND SOME OTHERS WITH A LORD
As this part has been going on for some time, many units gain market value if they have been owned by a celebrity. In this case, the hypnotic aspect of the car is joined by the fact that the singer Sir Elton John he had it in his collection for 25 years. A collector who, despite having some of the spectacular Ferraris and Aston Martin, declared in 2001 that it was “the most beautiful car, I think, ever designed".
Later -in 2007-, this unit was acquired by Lord AlanSugar, the tycoon who made a fortune from electronics and happens to be one of the UK's top Rolls and Bentley collectors.
