Just Arrived I Bentley S1 - FSD 841

Just Arrived

Bentley S1 - FSD 841

Chassis: B205BG

It isn't every day that one Rolls-Royce leaves and six classics arrive to take its place.

Not long ago, our rather rare Mulliner Park Ward 2-Door Saloon found a new home. In return came something altogether less glamorous, but arguably far more exciting: a transporter loaded with six Rolls-Royce and Bentley classics making the journey across the Irish Sea from the Emerald Isle.

It was quite the sight. A Bentley Mulsanne Turbo, two Bentley S1s, a Bentley S2, a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and a Bentley T1, all spanning decades of Crewe engineering and all perched on one lorry. They arrived looking tired, weathered and carrying the sort of honest scars you'd expect from cars that have spent years waiting for somebody to make a decision about them. Some will inevitably donate their parts to keep others alive. One or two, however, might just have another chapter left in them. That's exactly what we'll be finding out over the coming weeks.

This Bentley S1 is... difficult to describe.

Because technically it's still a car.

Just.

The front and rear wings have surrendered almost entirely to rust, every panel has been stripped back to bare metal, and every piece of glass has long since departed. The mirrors are gone. The lights are gone. Open a door and you'll quickly realise the interior has also taken the opportunity to leave.

In fact, apart from the steering wheel, there's remarkably little left inside at all.

And yet...

We rather like it.

Perched on thick whitewall tyres with that magnificent Bentley radiator grille still standing proudly at the front, it has acquired an unmistakable rat rod character. It's the sort of look guaranteed to make Bentley purists reach for a stiff drink, while another corner of the classic car world would probably call it perfect.

Unfortunately, appearances don't tell the whole story.

There isn't much left here to restore, and there isn't much left to salvage either. Whatever mechanical life it once had has long since departed, leaving little more than a shell sitting patiently on its wheels.

The one lingering hope is the body itself.

If the corrosion hasn't travelled further than it first appears, perhaps somebody will see potential where others see scrap. Stranger things have happened.

Until then, this wonderfully skeletal old Bentley remains one of the most unusual arrivals we've had for quite some time.