{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Use British English|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox automobile | image = 1961 Bentley S2 6.2.jpg | name = Bentley S2 | caption = Standard saloon | manufacturer = Bentley Motors Limited (1931) | assembly = United Kingdom: Crewe, England (Bentley Crewe) | production = 1959–1962<br />2,308 produced | body_style = 2-door saloon <br /> 4-door saloon <br /> 2-door drophead coupe | predecessor = Bentley S1 | successor = Bentley S3 | related = Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II | engine = 6.2 L ''Bentley L410'' V8 | wheelbase = 3124 mm (123 in)<br />3226 mm (127 in) }} The '''Bentley S2''' is a luxury car produced by Bentley from 1959 until 1962. The successor to the S1, it featured the new Rolls-Royce–Bentley L-series V8 engine and improved air conditioning made possible by that engine's increased output. Power steering was also standard, and a new dashboard and steering wheel were introduced. Some early S2s were built with the earlier S1 dashboard.
A high-performance S2-derived '''Continental''' edition was also produced.
1,863 standard and 57 long-wheelbase S2 car chassis were built<ref name=dupontregistry>{{cite web |url=https://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1960/bentley/s2/1860597 |title=Archived copy |website=www.dupontregistry.com |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406130326/https://www.dupontregistry.com/autos/listing/1960/bentley/s2/1860597 |archive-date=6 April 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> between 1959 and 1962. Almost all were fitted with standard factory bodywork. A number had coachbuilt bodies by Park Ward, Hooper, H. J. Mulliner & Co., and James Young.
==S2== Announced at the beginning of October 1959<ref name=Display>Display Advertising ''The Times'', Friday, 2 October 1959; pg. 5; Issue 54581; col D</ref> the S2 replaced the S1's straight-six engine with the new aluminium Rolls-Royce - Bentley L Series V8 shared with the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. It displaced 6.2 L (6230 cc, or 380 cu in), and offered significantly improved performance.
As advertised in ''The Times'', Friday, 2 October 1959:<ref name=Display/> {{Quotation| The cylinder block and heads are cast in aluminum alloy and hydraulic tappets operate the overhead valves. The engine has a compression ratio of 8 to 1 and is fitted with twin carburetors with automatic choke.<br /><br />Other features available include fully automatic transmission, power-assisted steering, electrically operated ride control, redesigned and more flexible air conditioning, electric rear window demisters and press button window lifts.}}
Of the 1,863 standard S2 models produced, 15 had H. J. Mulliner & Co. drophead coupe bodies. Of the 57 long-wheelbase cars, five had James Young bodies and one a Mercedes-Bentley yachting station-wagon body by Wendler.<ref name=dupontregistry/>
==S2 Continental== An "S2 Continental" chassis was built with higher performance engines and higher gearing for lighter bodywork. 388 were built, bodied by the same group of coachbuilders as the standard S2.
==Gallery== <gallery widths="200" heights="150"> File:Bentley S2 hb.jpg|Bentley S2<br />standard saloon<br />rear view File:1962 Bentley S2 Mulliner Drophead Coupe.JPG|Bentley S2<br />drophead coupé<br />by H J Mulliner 1962 File:Bentley Continental S2 3157641144.jpg|Bentley Continental S2 2-door saloon by H J Mulliner File:1962 Bentley S2 Continental.jpg|Bentley Continental S2 cabriolet<br />by Park Ward 1962 File:Bentley Continental S2 Flying Spur 4 door.JPG|Bentley Continental S2<br />4-door saloon<br />Flying Spur 1961<br />by H J Mulliner File:1959 Bentley S Continental Flying Spur (H. J. Mulliner ) (18355719411).jpg|Bentley Continental S2<br />4-door saloon<br />Flying Spur 1959<br />by H J Mulliner File:Bentley Continental S2 3157641220.jpg|Bentley Continental S2 interior File:1960 Bentley S2 Shooting Brake by Wendler, front left.jpg|1960 Bentley S2 Shooting Brake by Wendler </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}} {{commons category|Bentley S2}}
{{Bentley Motors Limited}} {{Bentley ownership & road car timeline}}
S2 Bentley S2 Category:Luxury vehicles Category:Convertibles Category:Sedans Category:Cars introduced in 1959 Category:Cars discontinued in 1962