During the 1960s, the Bentley Continental was the car of choice for everyone from captains of industry to rock stars, and this HJ Mulliner two-door saloon is a beautifully presented example of this coveted model. The build card for ‘BC40.AR’ records that the chassis was delivered to Rolls-Royce’s Lillie Hall premises on 20 November 1959, and the completed car was dispatched to London dealer HA Fox & Co on 1 April 1960. Specified with ‘full refrigeration’ (air-conditioning), plus electric windows and a Marchal Fulgar airhorn, it was finished in Black Pearl with a Blue interior. Its first owner was Ellis Stanning of Lloyds Pharmaceuticals Ltd in London, and he took delivery of his new Bentley on 13 April 1960. Later owners included the Hon William Grosvenor, who bought the car in October 1971. Grosvenor was the Eton-educated son of Lord Ebury, who’d been a Lord in Waiting to King George VI. The Continental must subsequently have been acquired by a US-based enthusiast, because it was from there that it was repatriated to the UK by marque specialist P&A Wood in early 1989. After selling it to Yorkshire-based Stuart Dennison, P&A Wood were commissioned to carry out a bare-metal respray, as well as a complete interior retrim. The top end of the V8 engine was also rebuilt, and the Bentley was sold later that year to Neville Cormack OBE. It passed to his daughter in 1992, before being acquired in 1998 by an enthusiast who had a fine collection of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars in Ireland. The Continental was kept there in climate-controlled storage under the watchful eye of a full-time caretaker. In 2011, it was sold to a new owner, then passed to the current custodian the following year. He had a major refurbishment carried out between 2012 and 2014 by Hampshire-based specialist A&S Engineering, including an engine rebuild and a comprehensive refurbishment of the engine bay. Recent work carried out by Gordon Dale Enterprises Ltd includes the fitting of new axle bushes and a differential pinion seal, new anti-roll bar bushes, and the installation of new front seatbelts. From its handcrafted aluminium body to its cosseting interior and imperious driving position, this well-maintained Bentley S2 exudes quality and grace. Being one of only 388 HJ Mulliner two-door Continentals makes it an even more special example of this aristocratic British classic. The Bentley S2 offered a charismatic mix of ‘old world’ tradition and new technology when it was introduced in 1959. It retained the separate chassis and coachbuilt options of its immediate predecessor, but replaced the aging six-cylinder engine with the latest 6230cc V8 from Rolls-Royce. This aluminium-alloy powerplant featured hydraulic tappets for quieter running, and was shared with the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. With an estimated 200bhp – Rolls-Royce had a long tradition of not releasing official power figures – it propelled the standard model to well over 100mph, and the S2 was also fitted as standard with power steering and a four-speed GM automatic transmission. As there had been with the earlier R-type and original S-type, there was the option of a high-performance Continental model with a higher compression ratio, a shorter radiator profile, an upgraded braking system, and a longer rear-axle ratio. Well-heeled clients could order their Continental with bodywork from a range of coachbuilders including Park Ward, James Youngand Chiswick-based HJ Mulliner. There was also a single Hooper-bodied example. The S2 Continental perfectly fulfilled its brief over its short production run, before it was replaced in 1962 by the S3. When Autocar magazine tested an S2 in 1960, it wrote that the new model ‘gives high-speed travel in silence and luxury, while the driver and passengers enjoy the sense of well-being that only British craftsmanship can give.’