Footnotes

• This Bentley Continental carries the elegant, H J Mulliner-designed, 'Flying Spur' four-door coachwork and is one of only two of the 86 S3 models completed in this style featuring the four-light side window arrangement that afforded greater privacy for rear-seat passengers.
  Eulogising about Bentley's new 'S'-series cars, introduced in April 1955, The Autocar wrote, 'the latest Bentley model offers a degree of safety, comfort and performance that is beyond the experience and perhaps even the imagination of the majority of the world's motorists.' Later, in October that same year, the Bentley Continental became available on the 'S' chassis, the model having been synonymous with effortless high speed cruising in the grand manner since its introduction in R-Type form in 1952.
  Rolls-Royce had envisaged the Bentley Continental as exclusively a two-door car, but late in 1957 the decision was taken to sanction the production of a four-door variation by H J Mulliner. Introduced on the S1 Continental and known as the 'Flying Spur', this design was a collaborative effort by Rolls-Royce's in-house styling department and H J Mulliner, and bore a strong resemblance both to the two-door Continental and to existing coachbuilt four-door styles on Rolls-Royce and (non-Continental) Bentley chassis. To the Continental's existing qualities of pace and elegance, the Flying Spur added four-door practicality, a more spacious interior and generously proportioned boot. The Flying Spur body style continued on the V8-engined S2 Continental and was revised to incorporate the S3's four-headlamp front end following the latter's introduction in 1962.
  Bentley Continental Flying Spur chassis number 'BC10XA' was supplied new to Mr Patrick Hall, Chairman of British Reinforced Concrete Engineering, and went with him when he relocated to South Africa for tax reasons. Prior to departure the car was sent to Crewe for a colour change to Antelope and Sable as Mr Hall did not like the original Mist Green. Air conditioning and air horns were fitted at the same time. The Bentley covered around 40,000 miles in the hands of Mr Hall, as shown by the accompanying service records from Grosvenor Motors in Johannesburg. Subsequently the car passed through a number of hands before being shipped back to the UK in 1971, by which time it had been re-sprayed with the upper half silver and the lower half turquoise, both of which were non Rolls-Royce colours. The car was sold to Wood & Krailing, a company based in Theydon Bois, Buckinghamshire and was re-trimmed with blue leather and navy carpets by R & R Quality Car Trims. Used by the company for a year, it was then sold to P & A Wood. Its next owner was an elderly gentlemen, Mr Michael Vining-Wilson, who kept it for a year before returning it to P & A Wood, from whom it was purchased by a Mr Peter Robbin in March 1982. Mr Robbin had the car stripped back to bare metal and re-sprayed Caribbean Blue while at the same time a number of other parts were renewed.
  There is a letter on file from the first owner to Mr Robbin recalling his time with the car and another from the British Reinforced Concrete Engineering Company stating that they have no documents on file relating to it. Mr Robbin then contacted the Rolls-Royce servicing centre in South Africa and also Wood & Krailing: both responded with details of what was done to the car. In 1997 the Bentley was bought by Lord Harris via Jack Barclay in London, by which time it had covered 82,500 miles. Following Lord Harris' ownership the car was bought by Mr Derek Reid of Hertfordshire, who subsequently sold it to the current vendor. In addition to the foregoing documentation the history file contains photocopies of the original factory chassis cards; 19 expired MoTs; 11 old tax discs; and sundry bills for work carried out totalling some £30,000, including one of £9,000 from West Hoathly Garage, Sussex (issued July 2008) for a new air conditioning unit, water pump, upper brake master cylinder, braking system service, gearbox overhaul and starter motor. This rare, coachbuilt Bentley S3 Continental is offered with Swansea V5 document and MoT to 27th May 2011 (issued at 89,898 miles).

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• The engine image found in the catalogue is incorrect.

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Category: Motoring / Motor Cars

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