• The ultimate in motoring luxury in its day • One of 63 Park Ward-bodied left-hand drive dropheads • Delivered new in the UK • Present ownership since 2004 • Stored since acquisition Introduced in the autumn of 1959, the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II and Bentley S2 appeared externally unchanged from their Silver Cloud and S-Type predecessors, though their performance was considerably enhanced by the new 6,230cc aluminium-alloy V8 engine.

"The Bentley S2, with its sister Rolls-Royce models, gives high-speed travel in silence and luxury, while the driver and passengers enjoy the sense of well being that only British craftsmanship can give.

The V8 engine, with its flashing acceleration, certainly contributes to the result and is a definite step forward in Rolls-Royce technique," enthused Autosport .

There were few significant changes to the running gear, though power-assisted steering was now standard and the manual gearbox had bee n dropped, Rolls-Royce's own four-speed automatic trans...