Virtual insanity: Jay Kay is selling his classic Bentley Continental S1 for $2 million

Musician Jay Kay – better known as Jamiroquai – has put his rare 1958 Bentley Continental S1 Drophead Coupé by Park Ward up for sale for £1 million ($AU1.95 million).

Jay Kay, the frontman of legendary London funk band Jamiroquai, has put his 1958 Bentley Continental S1 Drophead Coupé up for sale through Sotheby’s. But it won’t come cheap – with a hefty price tag accompanying the model’s exclusivity and cultural prominence.

The limited-edition Coupé with Park Ward Coachwork – one of 94 S1 Drophead Coupé made and one of 55 built to right-hand-drive specifications – originally featured in Jamiroquai’s Love Foolosophy music video alongside Jay Kay and international model Heidi Klum, and comes with less than 40,000 miles (64,373 kilometres) on the odometer.

The vehicle is described as being well-preserved, following an early 1990s restoration by UK-based specialists.

Jay Kay purchased the car in the late 2000s as a result of being drawn to its intrinsic charm and its attractive colour palette. This model was one of the first in his now infamous car collection and has been one of the longest to remain.

Before being put up for auction, the Sotheby’s team tested the model for auction and cleared the mechanical condition and quality of the now 65-year-old Bentley.

A spokesperson for Sotheby’s said they were “very impressed with the Bentley’s mechanical and cosmetic condition. The car started from the turn of the ignition and had no problems operating both at speed and in stop-start driving on a hot summer’s day. It was incredibly difficult to fault, a testament to the quality of its restoration and upkeep over the past thirty years.” 

The result of legendary coachwork designer John Blatchley, the history of the S1 Bentley Drophead Coupé is interesting.

Rather than the traditional Bentley Drophead Coupés produced post-war era, the S1 Continental Park Ward’s body style is independent from the standard factory saloon stampings. 

The custom aluminium body built from the ground up featured distinct John Blatchley designs that cemented the S1 Continental Drophead Coupé’s legacy in the pantheon of Bentley icons.

Distinguished by its smooth and subtle curvature, ‘flow-through’ fenders that reach the front to the rear, and the subtle kick-up forming ‘hips’ hovering over the rear wheels, the S1 Continental Drophead Coupé was widely considered the car of choice for the time period.

Due to the rarity of the 1958 Bentley Continental S1 Drophead Coupé, most available models up for auction have a price tag of around and exceeding $AU1.5 million without the Jamiroquai stamp of approval. 

The car is up for private sale through Sotheby’s in the UK. For more information, click here.

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