Bentley S1 Saloon, 1959
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Bijgewerkt: 09-October-2024 13:16

Bentley S1 Saloon, 1959

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Merkhistorie

Bentley S1 Saloon, jaar 1959. Kleur: tweekleurig, zwart boven zilver gecombineerd met een donkerrood leren interieur en tapijt. Deze prachtige Bentley S1 met linkse besturing (LHD) is in excellente staat en de auto rijdt perfect. De laatste eigenaar heeft veel geld uitgegeven om deze prachtige Bentley in uitstekende staat te brengen, de carrosserie werd prachtig nieuw gespoten en het interieur werd geheel nieuw bekleed met eersteklas leer. Alle houten panelen in het interieur zijn fraai gelakt. Deze ultraluxe Bentley heeft een 4,9 liter zescilindermotor die gekoppeld is aan een 4-traps automatische versnellingsbak. De motor loopt erg soepel en de versnellingsbak schakelt stil en schokvrij. Ook zijn er stuur- en rembekrachtiging aanwezig, het niveau van assistentie is uitstekend; de grote en zware auto kan worden bestuurd met een minimum aan inspanning. Onlangs werden de remmen gereviseerd en zijn er nieuwe banden gemonteerd. De Bentley S1 is een zeldzame auto, slechts 3170 exemplaren (RHD en LHD gecombineerd) werden met de hand gebouwd in de periode 1955 - 1959. Dit is een moeilijk te vinden links gestuurd model in uitstekende staat!

ARCHIEF | VERKOCHT

In 1931 werd de trotse firma Bentley overgenomen door Rolls Royce. Vanaf dat moment werd Bentley een tweede merk van Rolls Royce dat de sportieve klant moest gaan bedienen. Op de Bentley Continental modellen na werden er na de tweede wereldoorlog geen volledig op zichzelf staande Bentley's meer ontworpen, elke automobiel werd gebaseerd op een Rolls Royce model waaraan verschillende specificaties anders (lees sportiever) waren. Uiterlijk springt de fraai vormgegeven Bentley grille in het oog.
De Bentley S modelserie werd voorgesteld in 1955. De Bentley S1 saloon was het eerste model in deze serie. In 1959 werd de zescilinder S1 opgevolgd door de S2 saloon welke nu voorzien was van een fantastische, nagenoeg geruisloze, V8 motor.
Naast de S2 saloon werden er tevens Bentley S2 Drophead Coupe modellen leverbaar.
In 1962 werd de Bentley S3 saloon geïntroduceerd. De S3 kenmerkte zich door een nieuw vormgegeven voorzijde met dubbele koplampen. De motorkap en de grille waren verlaagd en de voorspatborden waren gewijzigd ten opzichte van de S2. De Bentley S3 beschikte over dezelfde 6230 cc. V8 motor.
Volgens Bentley liefhebbers was de S3 de laatste echte Bentley omdat de navolgende modellen, op de grille en de naam na, exact gelijk waren aan de Rolls Royce modellen.
De Bentley S3 werd gebouwd tot 1965 (1318 exemplaren waarvan 312 Drophead Coupé modellen) en werd opgevolgd door de T serie.

Technische gegevens

Zescilinder lijnmotor
2 S.U. carburateurs
cilinderinhoud : 4887 cc.
vermogen: ca. 175 pk.
topsnelheid: 165 km/u.
versnellingen: 4 automatisch
remmen: bekrachtigde
trommelremmen rondom
gewicht: 1975 kg.

Bentley history 1919 - 1931

The famous Bentley make, erected by Mr. W.O. Bentley, existed as a independent firm for only twelve years (1919-1931) before the proud firm was taken over by the Rolls Royce motor company. Those twelve exhilarating Bentley years were filled with racing successes and many important victories. The Bentley name as manufacturer of large, heavy, powerful and rugged sports cars has been imprinted in the human mind since the "roaring" 1920ies.

Bentley motorcars won the famous 24 hours of Le Mans race in the years 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930. The years they did not win the long distance reliability race for production cars they finished second or third. Not only successes at Le Mans were counted but also victories in other long distance events like the Brooklands 500 mile race. The racing successes were mainly due to the rugged built of the cars and the meticulous preparation of the cars. In every race they learned and had the cars improved on small but important details (Head lamp covers, mesh gauze on the petrol tank, quick filler caps for engine oil and radiator, driver adjustable brakes.)

3-Litre

The Bentley 3 Litre was W.O. Bentley’s first design. The car was presented in 1919 but the first cars were sold in 1921. The four cylinder cars of rugged construction where in a class of their own for they combined the size and comfort of the big tourers and saloons with the road holding, and speed of the smaller sports- and racing cars. The Bentley was a true owner-driver car for the sporting motorist and connoisseur. The Bentley car could be had in three different types which were designated with three different radiator badges*. Red badge: short chassis speed model, Blue badge: the early short and then long chassis type for bespoke bodywork, Green badge: very rare and used for about eighteen 100 mph. These Green badge car won at Le Mans in 1924 and 1927 (Old Number Seven.) The 3-Litre was built from 1919 until 1929.

*The Bentley radiator and the logo were designed by the genius motoring artist Gordon Crosby. The logo is a ‘badge’ and not a ‘label’ as stated by AFC Hilstead in his book ‘Those Bentley Days’ (published 1953).

6.5 Litre and Speed Six

Then in 1926 the 6.5 Litre and the Speed Six were presented, these six cylinder models were in the eyes of W.O. Bentley the best cars the Bentley firm ever built. The bigger capacity was needed for many a customer had built a bespoke heavy saloon body on their chassis and thus eliminating the sporting element the chassis had to offer. The Speed Six brought Bentley the most racing successes and Le Mans victories. In the year 1929 the Speed Six came home first with Bentley 4.5 Litres second, third and fourth! In 1930 the same Bentley Speed Six 'Old Number one' came home a victor followed by another Speed six in second position!

4.5 Litre

Next came the upgraded four cylinder Bentley 4.5 Litre in the year 1927. The 4.5 Litre featured four valves per cylinder and two spark plugs per cylinder engine. Most of these cars were given open tourer and saloon bodywork and only nine short chassis were built.

4.5 Litre Supercharged (Blower)

The 4.5 Litre Blower was built in the ‘Barnato’ period. Financed by the Hon. Dorothy Paget Tim Birkin successfully experimented at Brooklands with his blower Bentley and even achieved the Brooklands lap record with his Blower Bentley. As Woolf Barnato was now in charge of the Bentley firm, and W.O. now only responsible for the development of the Bentley cars, Birkin convinced Barnato to enter a separate team of Blower Bentleys for the 1930 Le Mans race. This was against W.O. Bentley’s ideas for he was of the opinion that the supercharger would only add trouble to a perfectly good and reliable machine. The 1930 Le Mans race proved W.O. right as none of the blown cars finished and Barnato and Kidston won on a Speed Six model.
The supercharged 4.5 Litre engines were real "gas-guzzlers", the naturally aspirated 4.5 Litre engine used one litre of petrol every 5.6 kilometres, the supercharged engine used one litre for just 3.5 kilometres, a very large petrol tank was fitted additionally.
Another problem was that spark plugs in the supercharged engine wore out very quickly resulting in loss of power. Bentley engineer Nobby Clarke stated one day: "The blower eats spark plugs like a donkey eats hay". Only 55 Bentley 4.5 Litre ‘blower’ cars have been built by the firm of which 26 carried the Van den Plas open tourer bodywork.

8-litre

In 1931 the most impressive Bentley model ever saw the light of day; the 8-Litre. This car can be regarded as a real ‘super car’. Only 100 of these big cars have been built.

4- Litre

Also in 1931 a down scaled 8-Litre was introduced, the 4-Litre. The car was designed to sell more cars to improve the cumbersome financial situation at Bentley’s. The 1929 Wall Street crash affecting the firm immensely. The 4-Litre featured the chassis, transmission and brakes of the 8-litre. The newly constructed 120 bhp ‘Ricardo’ engine proved underpowered for the chassis and as a result the 4-litre never became the success Bentley hoped for. Only 50 chassis were built.

1931 Rolls Royce take over

In 1931 business prospects looked very black and the firm went into receivership. Napier & Son were negotiating with Bentley's receiver to take over the company. Then another interested party arrived at the scene named British Central Equitable Trust. They outbid Napiers in a sealed bid auction. The Trust later was found to be a front for Rolls-Royce Limited. Rolls Royce had cleverly defeated the threat of a firm that could become a very unwelcome competitor.

From 1933 all Bentley cars were based upon their Rolls Royce counterparts and production was then moved from Cricklewood to Derby. Purists tend to name the Rolls Royce produced cars – Rolls Royce Bentley’s. Rolls Royce took good care of the Bentley ‘marque’. Many magnificent automobiles were built with a distinctively different character than the Rolls Royce models.

© Marc Vorgers 

Marc Vorgers
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Marc Vorgers