BENTLEY S1 - RARE JAMES YOUNG COACHBUILD-2 DOOR COUPE -1957. For Sale

We proudly present this Bentley S1 with a rare James Young coach built body, Finished in Glasso Green paintwork with Green Leather interior trim.

Originally supplied by Jack Barclay Bentley of London in June 1957, to its first owner Mr Percy Henderson of Little Warley Essex, who ordered a James Young four door saloon but changed his mind at the last moment to a two door saloon coupe, Looking through the history the early previous owners included JF Howes of Howes Jackman Architects London and Colonel A. B Mcghee of Wimbledon.

The Bentley spent a lengthy time in America during the 1980's before being repatriated back to the UK and reunited with its original registration.

The specification is Glasso Green with a matching Green-Grey leather interior and featured power-assisted steering, as well as a sliding sunroof, pipe ashtray, rear window de-mister and a grey rubber mat on the front floor.

Powered by Bentleys 4. 9-litre straight six engine featuring revised cylinder-head porting, power was quoted at 178bhp. As standard, the unit drove through an automatic gearbox with steering column control. Suspension was independent at the front by wishbones and coil springs and employed a leaf-spring mounted live axle at the rear.

Accompanying this Bentley is a superb history file which details the complete James Young build process and correspondence with the original owner and Jack Barclay, also included is an extremely detailed ledger of the labour hours spent building the body and all the materials used by James Young.

According to the research of the previous owner Ian Dixon Potter, only three Bentley S1's were built to the design No. B20SR of which this car is one.

Despite the popularity of Rolls-Royce's 'standard steel' bodywork, discerning customers continued to patronise the handful of coachbuilding firms that remained in business after WW2. 'Luxury clothed in aluminium', chassis number 'B207CM' carries James Young's elegant, two-door coupé coachwork. 'B207CM' is one of only three subtly different cars completed with this particular body style. At £6, 474 and 17 shillings, this rarity came at a price, which was around 50 percent above the 'standard steel' model, virtually the same price as the Continental model and one that would have bought four Jaguar MkVIII Saloons.

The last owner purchased this Bentley in June 2014, shortly after subject to extensive improvement works to bring the car up to the standard required with both Castec Motor Services and Penso. This included the headlining and interior being re-trimmed in December of that year with over 320 hours of labour on the interior alone, with the cost of these works totalling £17, 401. Next would be a replacement sliding sunroof and carpets in January 2015 at a cost of £6, 055 and a month later the plexi-glass rear screen was replaced with a hand-made item at a cost of £7, 525. Additional items would follow, including a replacement Radiomobile stereo, replacement steering box, the addition of electronic ignition and extensive mechanical works. Overall, this car has been subject to over £47, 350 expenditure in current ownership. This presents an opportunity to acquire perhaps one of the rarest James Young Bentleys to be manufactured.

This car is a very usable example and drives fantastically. The last owner has owned this car for 10 years.

Please call for more information of this beautiful Bentley.