Legacy Metrics

1956 Bentley S1 Continental Sports Saloon by H J Mulliner

BC51LAFroadUnited Kingdom
Engine
4.9L inlet-over-exhaust straight-six

A rare left-hand drive, automatic-transmission example of the 1956 Bentley S1 Continental Sports Saloon with coachwork by H J Mulliner, one of just 431 built on the S-Type chassis. Delivered new in January 1956 to Switzerland, it has had only two owners, both Swiss, and is believed never to have left that country. A partial restoration carried out in 2023–2024 addressed the front suspension, brakes, steering, and interior trim, and the car is accompanied by a comprehensive history file including a FIVA Identity Card and factory build records.

Ownership

  1. 2025-06-29Auction sale
    Sold CHF 350,000 (≈ $385K)

    Bonhams catalogue lot →

  2. 1956 →Factory delivery
    M. Dubois
    full documentation

    First registered owner, took delivery new in Switzerland. Build specifications from both Bentley and the coachbuilder are on file, along with a FIVA Identity Card and chronologically arranged documentation.

  3. Date unknownAcquisition unknown
    Swiss owner, second
    partial documentation

    The sole subsequent owner, also based in Switzerland. The car is believed to have remained in that country throughout its life. A partial restoration including front suspension, brakes, steering, and full interior re-trim was carried out during 2023–2024 under this ownership.

Competition

No competition history extracted from the catalogue.

Maintenance & restoration

  1. 2023
    Restoration

    Partial restoration covering a mechanical overhaul of the complete front suspension, braking system, and steering, alongside an extensive programme of general maintenance and a full interior re-trim. Work is documented by photographs and invoices.

    Work began in 2023 and was completed in 2024; described as partial rather than comprehensive.

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This car's public record is built from its auction and competition history. Register your ownership and privately add your own records to make it a verified Legacy Metrics passport — provenance that backs your car's value at sale and gives your insurer evidence to price against. Roy reviews and verifies every registration personally.

How this record is sourced

Each chassis record is compiled from public auction archives and links to its source material. Ownership, competition and maintenance entries are extracted from those catalogue listings by an LLM, which can make mistakes — please contact us with any corrections. The summary is Legacy Metrics’ own writing; we do not reproduce catalogue text.

“Full” and “partial” documentation labels indicate how well each entry is corroborated in the underlying sources, not an audit of the car’s physical paperwork. Names of recent or living owners are withheld for privacy.