13. 1955 Bentley S1

The S1 neatly bridged the gap between Bentley’s pre-war past and post-war future.

Power for this sizeable saloon came from a development of the venerable straight-six, now enlarged to 4887cc to give a reputed 175bhp.

If the engine linked to the earlier times, the S1’s full-width bodywork pointed resolutely to what was to come.

As well as being to a standardised design and made mostly from aluminium, the body was shared in all but badges and radiator with the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud.

Also standard now was the four-speed automatic gearbox, while new front suspension and better brakes dealt with the S1’s size and weight. Power steering became an option from 1956.

The S1 may have been a Rolls-Royce in most respects, but the Bentley model outsold its sibling with 3107 S1s made compared to 2231 Silver Clouds.

14. 1955 Bentley S1 Continental Flying Spur

The vast majority of Bentley S1 Continentals made were two-door saloons and dropheads.

However, HJ Mulliner reckoned there was a select group of buyers who wanted a sleeker, Continental-style four-door, and this proved a good bet.

The Flying Spur name came from a Scottish heraldic device of the clan Johnstone, which was put forward by HJ Mulliner’s Managing Director, Arthur Talbot Johnstone.

The very first Flying Spur had this mascot on its radiator.

Inspired by HJ Mulliner’s success, James Young also went on to offer a four-door Continental saloon on the S1 Bentley chassis.

15. 1959 Bentley S2

You would have to be a keen student of Bentley saloon styling to spot the S2 that replaced the S1 in 1959.

However, open the bonnet and the difference was immediately apparent with the new, aluminium, 6.2-litre V8 engine nestling where the S1’s straight-six had previously been.

The V8 was clearly designed with US customers in mind and it offered an estimated 200bhp.

However, it was not significantly quicker than the S1 yet had worse fuel economy, so was not universally welcomed.

Smooth power delivery convinced plenty to buy the S2, however, and it came with an automatic gearbox and power steering as standard for the first time in a Bentley.

Only on sale until 1962, the factory turned out 1932 standard saloon S2s.

16. 1959 Bentley Continental S2

Bentley continued to supply chassis to be turned into four-door Continental models, which carried on being called Flying Spur for those with HJ Mulliner coachwork.

James Young also kept the faith with its four-door Continental saloon.

As with the standard S2 saloon, the changes for the Continental models were largely limited to the engine bay with the arrival of the new, 6.2-litre V8.

The more powerful engine did, however, also provide the opportunity to fit the S2 with a much better air-conditioning system to appeal to customers in warmer climates.

Another improvement for the Bentley Continental S2 was the addition of electrically operated ride control as standard, along with an automatic gearbox and power steering.

17. 1962 Bentley S3

The new quad headlights of the Bentley S3 caused a sensation when the car was unveiled in 1962, and not all of the reaction was positive.

However, there were other changes to the S3’s body that went largely unnoticed, such as the lower bonnet line, the reshaped front wings, and the recessed sidelights and indicators. There were also wider rear wheels from 1964.

As with the previous two S-series models, the S3 could be ordered with a long-wheelbase version of the standard body, though only 32 of this generation were made in this extended form.

Revised carburettors and raised engine compression improved power to around 210bhp. The S3 also enjoyed better power steering for smoother low-speed driving.

18. 1962 Bentley S3 Continental

The S3 Continental stands as the last uniquely Bentley model while under Rolls-Royce ownership.

As with the factory saloon, the Continental now came with four headlights, though the saloons stuck with a slightly less controversial style than the Park Ward two-door’s design.

Underneath the sleek saloon bodywork by HJ Mulliner or James Young, the S3 Continental adopted all of the mechanical updates of the factory saloon.

This brought a power increase to around 210bhp for the 6.2-litre V8 engine, better power steering and slightly improved performance.

The S3 Continental was a slower seller than its predecessors, generating a total of 312 sales compared to 388 for the S2 and, best of all, 431 for the S1.

19. 1965 Bentley T1

The Bentley T1 was all but identical to the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, save for the badges and radiator grille.

A more fundamental change was the Bentley model was now comprehensively outsold by its Rolls-Royce counterpart.

The T1 found 1867 buyers for all types, while the standard Shadow saloon generated 16,717 sales on its own.

The four-door T1 was the most common Bentley and shared the Shadow’s unitary construction, hydropneumatic suspension and brakes, and the 6.2-litre V8 in early cars. The 6750cc V8 arrived in 1970.

Bentley also sold a small number of two-door T1 saloons and these cars were created by coachbuilder James Young.

20. 1971 Bentley Corniche

The Corniche revived the name from the ill-fated, pre-war, one-off made for André Embiricos and it was shared with the two-door Rolls-Royce.

More were made as convertibles (around 80) compared to 69 two-door saloons.

Where the Mulliner Park Ward-made Bentley Corniche differed from the earlier James Young two-door saloon was along the beltline.

Where the earlier car had the same straight line as the four-door saloons, the Corniche had a ‘Coke-bottle’ dip along its rear flank.

Because all Corniches were made from 1971-on, they benefited from the larger, 6750cc V8 with more power, and the 2.2-tonne (2200kg), two-door saloon could reach 126mph and cover 0-62mph in 9.7 secs.

21. 1977 Bentley T2

Just as the Rolls-Royce saloon became the Silver Shadow II, the Bentley morphed into the T2.

Again, Rolls sales outstripped the Bentley by more than 10 to one, to make the Bentley a much rarer sight then and now.

Improvements for the T2 included split-level air conditioning and a revised dashboard, as well as a front air dam to improve aerodynamics. There was rack-and-pinion steering to give more precise steering feel and reaction.

When the Bentley T2 reached the end of its production life in 1980, 558 standard models has been built, along with a mere 10 long-wheelbase versions.

22. 1980 Bentley Mulsanne

To begin with, it looked like the Bentley Mulsanne would just be more of the same as with the T-series cars – rebadged Rolls-Royce models.

However, there were hints that Bentley was beginning to wake from its slumber.

The Mulsanne gently began to remind buyers of the badge’s motorsport history, with front sports seats in place of the Silver Spirit’s armchairs.

There was also a black insert for the radiator grille to make the Bentley’s more rounded front stand out.

It was a modest start and the Silver Spirit continued to be the stronger seller, but by the time the Mulsanne S arrived in 1987 things were going more Bentley’s way.

The S shared the quad headlights of the Turbo R, along with the same firmer suspension, alloy wheels and a different interior.