So plush and capacious is its carpeted interior, you could hold soirées init - with canapés. Oonagh Charleton talks to Gerard Ussher about hisBentley S2
Does your car have a distinctive personality? Have you ever referred to it as "cantankerous", "responsive", "moody", or even "rebellious"? Or even "faithful", "reliable", "aggressive" or the more frequently heard "downright stubborn"!
Do you find yourself quietly coaxing it through traffic or even starting furious conversations in the morning darkness of an icy cold start?
Well if so, you aren't in any way strange or neurotic, as over the years virtually every classic car owner we have met has either deliberately or quite subconsciously spoken of, and indeed to their car as human in some way.
The Bentley S2 is no different. However, there is one exception. While the owner of a 1961 6230cc V8 S2, Gerard Ussher, describes his Bentley as "big and bold", you could almost put personality aside and think of it more as a potential residence than an unresponsive conversationalist.
Bentley Motors, founded in 1912 by WO Bentley, is a company name synonymous with aristocracy and luxury, standing on its own despite acquisition by Rolls Royce in the 1930s. When one considers the Bentley range, images of driving down long winding tree-lined roads on the way to candle-lit suppers in Sussex may spring to mind. In any event, you might as well host your own evening soirée inside the S2 - interior luxury, to the point of sinking through the floor in soft upholstery, is impressive. It's roomy, high-ceilinged, with door-to-door plush carpeting and formidable walnut veneer dash. The S2 will comfortably seat five with tall champagne glasses, stilettos and large hats. Canapés can be placed on a fold-out wooden tray built into the back of the driver's seat in most S2s and woodbines extinguished in an easily accessible ashtray.
Ho-hum and la-di-da aside, the Bentley S2 was the first V8 Bentley released to customers for purchase. With an aluminium engine producing a top speed of 115mph, it can reach 0-60 mph in 11.5 seconds and is quite happy to cruise along at around 18 mpg.
Ussher, who prefers to take his S2 out on motorways, admits to steering clear of the city as much as he can when driving. "I avoid town as much as possible," he explains, "partially because it's so difficult to judge space. I can't see little cars around me.
Like all classic owners who drive large vehicles, multi-storey car parks are a nightmare where tight u-bends have unhinged many a mind and many a front wing. Gerard "whacked" the front bumper of his Bentley off just such a concrete bollard and has been reluctant to return since.
The S2 is indeed quite far from ordinary, although squashed in the production timeline between the 100mph 1955 S1 and the 1962 S3. It's part of a dynasty of cars that have never appeared flashy, more conservatively elite. And, while much fuss was made at the time over reduced engine weight, the S2 was and always will be seen as a large heavy car with an appetite for petrol.
Ussher, who bought the S2 despite initially proposing interest in a classic Jaguar, has worked steadily on the car over the past number of years. "Over the years I have replaced two wings, done a lot of chrome work, rebuilt the engine and the gearbox.".
He acknowledges that there are problem spots with the S2 - especially the brakes. As each year goes by, various difficulties arise. Parts are readily accessible though and, as Gerard is involved with the Irish Vintage and Veteran Car Club, information and contacts are never far away.
Advantages in owning a car such as the S2 are numerous especially when it comes to silver screen stardom. Usshers' Bentley has been used in three films in Ireland and has driven him to his own wedding and around France in an extended honeymoon. And, since he has bought it, the S2 has never let him down or left him stranded. His everyday car is a 1985 Daimler but he loves driving the Bentley for the sense of nostalgia it brings. "It's a car I would have looked at when I was young," he says.
His ultimate motor is the E-type Jaguar, a far cry from his first ever drive, the Morris 1100. So, will Gerard's S2 be converted into a mobile dining room any time soon? Probably not, he's happy taking it out on the odd country drive, stretching the V8 and keeping an eye on tight corners.