See inspection report, full photos, videos and more at
classicpromenade.com. This is a rare opportunity to find a 1957
Bentley S1 Standard Steel Saloon with all the Harold Radford
Coachbuilders Countryman modifications. This was ordered new by one
of most affluent men in the world who was serving as the US
Ambassador to the United Kingdom, having the car delivered new to
the US Embassy. It is rare for us to offer a motorcar that needs
work, but this Bentley will be a worthwhile project because of its
provenance and Radford Countryman modifications. This Bentley was
ordered new by John Hay Jock Whitney, who was one of the Whitney
family members. Mr. Whitney was the publisher of the New York
Herald Tribune , President of the Museum of Modern Art and the US
Ambassador to the UK. By 1930, he was one of the wealthiest men in
the world and in 1946 he founded JH Whitney, the oldest venture
capital firm in the US. Ambassador Whitney ordered this Bentley to
be delivered to the US Embassy in London by February 24 th , 1957.
It was special ordered with 8:1 compression, the rear seat lowered
by one inch and power steering. More importantly perhaps, this
Bentley was sent to Harold Radford Coachbuilders to have the
Countryman modifications made to the interior. This includes two
full cocktail requisite cabinets to the back of the front seats,
and a variety of additional storage cabinets in the doors, a
secretary compartment for note pads, pens and other items and,
importantly, the ability to fold the front seat completely flat
allowing for a nearly queen size beds for the afternoon nap in the
country. The interior of this Bentley is very nice with newer soft
and supple red leather throughout, complimented by red carpet with
red leather banding along the edges. The wood is in good condition,
but certainly not for show. While all of the Radford compartments
are there, the accoutrement are missing and would have to be
sourced. Frankly, sourcing the items is not all that difficult as
they were not Rolls-Royce or Bentley branded items. The hard part
is to find a Radford Countryman!! The exterior is a two town Masons
black with gray metallic. The paint and body are substandard for
our standards, but it looks impressive and stately. The chrome is
mostly very nice and presentable as-is. The bigger challenge is
that this Bentley has rust in many of the body panels that will
need attention. The areas around the rocker panels and the lower
sections of the fenders are bubbling. Being from Arizona, we just
dont see this and are ill equipped to deal with it. The windows are
tinted for privacy and to help keep the interior cool during summer
months. Mechanically, we have performed over $10,000 worth of
service and repair to make sure this is a mechanically solid
Bentley. Refer to the inspection report, but most everything works
as it should, the air conditioning blows cold and the car is nice
to drive. The file for the Bentley has a substantial additional
amount of service and repairs performed under prior ownership,
totaling about $28,000. The Bentley has its spare and a few of the
tools. It is missing many of the large and small tools and does not
include the handbook. It does come with an electronic service
workbook. For more details, please call, text or email Harry Clark
at 1.602.245.7200 or
[email protected] . The Bentley is in
our showroom in Phoenix.