S-EXPRESS

For many, the Bentley S-Type launched in 1955 and its Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud cousin are cars at the end of an era. Last of the body-on-frame construction, they were the last of a design approach that allowed features like an uncompromisingly large and upright grille.

The earlier cars retain the singular headlights with swept-back cowling through the inner wing, unlike the headlights on later cars that would identify Silver Shadows more than anything else. So there is a charm for the early cars, and for some even more discerning people there’s an extra charm to the Bentley S-series models over the Rolls-Royce Silver Clouds. The most obvious difference is the front grille’s rounded edges and V-shaped form with fewer, thicker vertical bars. There are, in fact, ever so subtle changes in the wings and bonnet such that, individually you