The top-tier luxury car has evolved along different lines than other cars. The assembly line revolutionized mainstream car making, and made the automobile affordable for millions of people. But, for a car costing at least ten times what a Model T cost, a different approach was needed. With really high end luxury cars made before WWII, you would generally buy only a chassis from the actual automaker, then you would have it sent to a coachbuilder to have a body made to your particular specifications. Luxury car companies also tended to be more local businesses than mainstream car companies, as people liked to be close enough to oversee in some capacity the building of their car.
There were obviously exceptions, but this was the norm for a long time. Things changed after the Depression and WWII. A lot of luxury automakers didn’t make it through these troubling times, and those that did suddenly found themselves in a more global market. Luxury automakers would switch to standard bodies to keep up with the increased demand and to streamline logistics for foreign customers. The last Bentley that could be ordered without a standard body was this one, the S1.
Continue reading to learn more about the 1959 Bentley S1 ’Empress’ Saloon.
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