S1 / S2 Continental

Coachbuilt through two engines

S1 and S2 Continentals were separate-chassis coachbuilt grand tourers. The S1 kept the 4.9-litre straight-six. The S2 introduced the aluminium 6.2-litre V8. Value depends on body design and factory record.

View details

Market value · road

$130K–$392K

Typical $242K · 46 sales · -10% vs ’19–’20

$45K$1.9M
Open Market & Price

Market value · road

$130K–$392K

Typical $242K · 46 sales · -10% vs ’19–’20

$45K$1.9M
’03’26
Market history · in the terminal
Open Market & Price
S1 power
180 bhp (4.9-litre straight-six · factory heritage car)
S2 power
183 bhp (6.2-litre V8 · factory heritage car)
Top speed
113 to 120 mph (body and generation dependent)
Transmission
4-speed (automatic; some S1 manuals)
Construction
Separate chassis (independently coachbuilt)
Built
820 (432 S1 · 388 S2)

Market & Price

The price and the proof

A terminal for one car: the model curve over the documented record, the benchmarks it is measured against, and the instruments that read it.

Records: 117 documented road sales on file · 2003–2026; estimate band $130K–$392K · good road cars. recorded sale prices · mixed hammer and premium-inclusive basis.

HCN:S1S2CONTLive model
$242'341-54.6% · 12M
$5K$10K$20K$50K$100K$200K$500K$1M$2M20182020202220242026CovidRate shockS&P 500
Model curve · anchored to 117 documented salesnot investment advice
The readouts · model figures against the benchmarks117 documented anchors · last sale 4 mo ago

Compound annual growth

WindowThis car*S&P 500Gold
1Y-54.6%+18.8%+21.9%
5Y-4.3%+11.4%+17.6%
10Y+4.3%+13.3%+11.8%

*Modeled price CAGR · S&P is a price index, no dividends

Deepest drawdown · model window

This car*-98.7%Aug 2015 → Dec 2015 · recovered Aug 2018
S&P 500-50.8%Oct 2007 → Mar 2009 · recovered Mar 2013
Gold-39.3%Sep 2011 → Dec 2015 · recovered Jul 2020

Forecast ladder · model quantiles

HorizonP10P50P90
+6M$198K$240K$292K
+12M$183K$238K$311K
+24M$161K$235K$342K

Median path with the 10th and 90th percentile · not investment advice

Transaction ledger · documented sales

117 of 117 recorded sales · shown in USD · recorded currency in each record

Price range · road · openConfidence · estimateThis dossier combines two generations and many coachbuilt bodies. Four documented USD results show that a single average would conceal the market: body design, steering position, originality and restoration move prices by multiples.

Floor

$130K

Typical

$242K

Ceiling

$392K

Estimate band for good road cars. 46 documented sales since 2019 plotted below.

$44K$130K$242K$392K$1.9M
Hover the spectrum to read a value, or a dot for the sale behind it.

Band and axis shown in USD. Sale positions use indicative fixed-rate conversion to USD; sale readouts retain recorded currencies. Broad USD envelope for public S1 and S2 Continental sales. Each body style needs its own comparables.

The wider market · Bentley at auction · median per year · modeled between anchors1,032 lots · 2003–2026 · exact yearly anchors · modeled line
20032026Explore all 40,882 results

Instrument calibration for this file is in progress — the terminal above reads the documented record directly.

RM Sotheby's published results include buyer's premium. No currency conversion has been applied.

Overview

The last broad run of independent Bentley coachwork

Bentley carried the Continental driveline and chassis into the S-Series in 1955. Customers ordered a chassis and selected from bodies by the remaining specialist firms; H.J. Mulliner accounted for 217 of 432 S1 Continentals.

The four-door Continental Flying Spur joined the two-door cars in 1957. It kept Continental performance while adding four proper doors, and its name later became a standalone Bentley model line.

The S2 arrived in 1959 with a 6.2-litre aluminium V8 developed under engineering head Harry Grylls by lead engine designer Jack Phillips. Sources record 388 S2 Continentals. Together with the 432 S1 cars, the combined dossier covers 820 coachbuilt Continental chassis.

S1 built
432
S2 built
388
S1 engine
4'887 cc six
S2 engine
6'230 cc V8
Bodies
Coachbuilder-specific

Reference

Technical specifications

S1 Continental

Engine
4'887 cc F-head straight-six180 bhp in Bentley's S1 Flying Spur heritage example
Gearboxes
4-speed manual or automaticmost surviving examples are automatic
Fastback performance
Up to 120 mphpublished RM Sotheby's figure for the H.J. Mulliner fastback
Production
432 Continental chassis217 bodied by H.J. Mulliner

S2 Continental

Engine
6'230 cc aluminium V8183 bhp at 4'000 rpm in Bentley's S2 heritage example
Torque
350 Nm at 1'800 rpmBentley factory heritage figure
Gearbox
4-speed automaticstandard; no manual option
Chassis equipment
Power steering and ride controlelectrically adjustable rear damping
Production
388 Continental chassis

The records

0cars

S1 Continental production

0cars

S2 Continental production

0cars

H.J. Mulliner S1 bodies

HICON BID

Buying interest, silently.

A HICON Bid is a confidential expression of buying interest on the Bentley S1 / S2 Continental file — never public, never shown to other members. It is not a binding purchase, and HICONIUM holds no funds.

Sign in

HICON Bids are a member instrument. Sign in to place one.

The vault

Open a file on yours.

You keep one? The record starts in your garage — identity, papers, photography, and the market evidence this file already carries, bound to your chassis.

Sign in to open a fileHow membership works

The value drivers

What moves the price

Two F40s can be indistinguishable in a photograph and a million apart at the hammer: the difference is never in the paint. Build the file below and watch the band move.

Indicative band · the base car

$130K–$392K

a good, honest road car — before its file is read

$42K$1.7M

Spans are indicative, drawn from the documented sales cited beside each attribute. The calibrated multipliers — and how they compound for one specific chassis — are member instruments.

The variants

One badge, 3 executions

The register separates the S1 / S2 Continental into its documented executions. One reference silhouette per execution — each opens as its own file as the archive fills.

Bentley S1 / S2 Continental S1 Continental — reference silhouetteS1 Continental01
Reference in preparationS2 Continental02
Reference in preparationFlying Spur03

3 executions on file · references drawn to the house standard

The cars

The S1 / S2 Continental register

Documented individual cars — chassis, colour, ownership and sale history. Open one for its full provenance. Public records only; members see the complete registry.

10 documented · public records

The hands

The people behind the car

The people whose work shaped the Bentley S1 / S2 Continental.

No free period portrait on record

Harry Grylls

Head of engineering

Set the brief for the compact aluminium V8 introduced in the S2.

No free period portrait on record

Jack Phillips

Lead engine designer

Led the design of the L-Series V8, including its cross-plane crankshaft and silicon-aluminium construction.

No free period portrait on record

Arthur Talbot Johnstone

Managing director

Named the four-door Continental Flying Spur after the Johnstone family heraldic device.