60 Years of Bentley S2 Flying Spur

Since 1931, the once independent brand Bentley belonged to Rolls-Royce and often produced only what today is known as ‘badge engineering’: identical vehicles with different logos. However, this wasn’t enough for the proud engineers in Crewe. Therefore they developed the naked Continental chassis of the S1, which was offered to customers with individual taste to get their own bodywork at different coachbuilders. With the successor S2 they kept this practice. In addition to Coupés and Convertibles from James Young and Park Ward, there were also sporty luxury sedans for self-drivers created by H.J. Mulliner. In contrast to typical Rolls-Royce customers, Bentley owner often preferred to grab the steering wheel themselves. With the S2 Flying Spur, a car was developed which had already been designed for the S1 by Herbert Nye, but never was produced during that time.

Under the bonnet of the Bentley S2 a newly developed V8 engine made from aluminium with 6.2 liters displacement was mounted. The British brand neither today nor back in the days made more accurate information on technical data. Customers who wanted to know more about the engine performance got the same answer as with Rolls-Royce: a meaningful “sufficient”. Only the fact that they spared 14 kilograms compared to the former inline six-cylinder engine of the S1 was given out. This V8 reained in production in various development stages until the Arnage. In combination with the standard four-speed automatic gearbox, the power steering and the often requested air conditioning, even less power was left. But as far as we know no customer complained about insignificant performance. The standard equipment also included an electrically-operated ride control, electric rear window demister and electrically operated windows all around.

By 1962, a total of 2,388 Bentley S2 were built. Of these, 52 received a long wheelbase chassis and another 388 belonged to the S2 Continental series. Of these 388 copies, 128 received the Flying Spur bodywork by H.J. Mulliner. Today, these vehicles are sought-after collectibles. Since 2005, Bentley again offers a Flying Spur, this time based on the Continental series. In 2019 this vehicle will arrive in its third model generation.

Images: Bentley