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Bentley S2 Continental Drophead Coupé - drive like a king

Name: Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward 1961
Brand: Bentley

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Created on April 30, 2016

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv

Daniel Reinhard

Archiv

Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - feels wonderful to drive

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - makes an impression in front of any architecture

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the Bentley is fun even in the London fog

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - relaxed driving

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - smooth cruising is the order of the day in third gear

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - elegant convertible

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - once owned by King Hassan II of Morocco

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - elegant lines

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - open-top fun for four or five people

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the roof is opened/closed electrically

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the roof is opened::closed electrically - you only have to lock it manually

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - also cuts a dazzling figure when closed

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - elegant interior for the gentleman driver

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - lots of wood and leather in the interior

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - thin-walled plastic steering wheel

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - Smiths instruments with beautiful dials

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - four-speed automatic, no park position

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - feudal space, only the rear can be a bit drafty

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - despite all the luxury, the windshield is still cranked up by hand

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - a Bentley B also adorns the brake pedal

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the coachbuilder is documented on the threshold

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the hood opens like butterfly wings in the traditional manner

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - V8 engine with a displacement of 6.7 liters

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - maximum power output was not the aim of the Rolls-Royce/Bentley engineers

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - classic Bentley radiator grille

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the Bentley sign on the nose

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - Bentley sign on the nose

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - the Bentley wing always shows the way

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - filigree door handles

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - unconventionally framed rear lights

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - Trunk lid handle

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Bentley S Continental 2-Door Saloon Park Ward (1957) - elegant coupé with 4887 cm3 six-cylinder engine

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Bentley S Continental 4-Door Sports Saloon Mulliner (1958) - as a four-door saloon

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Bentley S Continental DHC Park Ward (1956) - the forerunner of the S2 Continental

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Bentley S Continental DHC Park Ward (1956) - with top down

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Bentley S Continental DHC Park Ward (1958) - two-tone paintwork

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Bentley S2 Continental 'Flying Spur' Mulliner (1961) - with light alloy bodywork

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1960) - Front views of the Bentley S2 next to its brother Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II at the 1960 Geneva Motor Show

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Bentley S2 (1960) - Engine with eight cylinders and over six liters of displacement

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1959) - in the sales brochure

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1959) - significantly sportier design than its predecessor

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1959) - one of the most elegant ways to be on the road in the late fifties

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1959) - presented in October 1959

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1959) - rear view

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1961) - still without "Chinese eyes"

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Bentley S2 Continental DHC Park Ward (1960) - only built for three years

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Bentley S Continental DHC Park Ward (1959) - Interior

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Bentley S2 Continental 4-Door Sports Saloon James Young (1959) - four-door saloon

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Bentley S2 Continental Mulliner (1961) - two-door body made of aluminum

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Bentley S2 Drophead Coupé Mulliner (1961) - aluminum convertible with closed top

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Bentley S2 Drophead Coupé Mulliner (1961) - light alloy body

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Bentley S2 Drophead Coupé Mulliner (1961) - with aluminum body, soft top and windows could be operated electrically as an option

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1959) - also available with air conditioning

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1960) - in its second year of construction

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1961) - the hardness of the rear axle damping could be influenced from the inside

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1961) - almost indistinguishable from the identical Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II from this perspective

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1961) - parallel model to the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II with 6230 cm3 V8 with hydraulic valve compensation

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Bentley S2 Saloon (1961) - elegant saloon version, presented at the 1961 London Salon

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Bentley Continental - Rolls-Royce and Bentley united at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show

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Bentley S3 Continental Mulliner Park Ward (1963) - at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show

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Bentley S3 Continental DHC (1963) - View inside the convertible, at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show

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Summary

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II and the Bentley S2 were built from 1959 to 1962. The fastest versions were called Continental and the most elegant version was certainly the five-seater Park Ward Convertible, of which only 125 were sold. This driving report shows one of the rare Drophead Coupés in current and historical pictures, as well as in the sales literature of the time.

This article contains the following chapters

Introduced in 1959
The lightweight version
The Park Ward Cabriolet
High standards
Expensive and rare
Pleasure without remorse

Estimated reading time: 5min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The King of Morocco, Hassan II, was certainly a connoisseur. Shortly after his appointment as monarch in March 1961, he received a Bentley S2 Continental Drophead Coupé on April 3, 1961, one of the most expensive cars of the time. At the time, this noble piece would have cost 81,000 francs in Switzerland, around twice as much as a BMW 507, the most expensive Ferrari or a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. Rolls-Royce and Bentley made their grand entrance at the London Motor Show in 1959. On their stand, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II and the Bentley S2 proudly displayed their new V8 light-alloy engine. Not that it was much more powerful than its six-cylinder predecessor (with around 190 hp from 6230 cm3), but it did offer more torque and, above all, the option of installing air conditioning.

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