Bentley S2 Wendler ch.LLBA9 Estate Wagon 1960 Grey Matrix Scale Models 1:43

The Bentley S2, built between 1959 and 1962, introduced the marque's first aluminium V8 engine — a 6,230 cc unit that replaced the long-serving inline-six of the S1. Sharing its body shell with the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, the S2 was already a landmark car; chassis LLBA9 went further still, receiving a bespoke estate body from Wendler of Reutlingen, Germany, making it a one-of-one survivor within that already exclusive production run.

The S2 and Bentley's First V8

Introduced at the 1959 Motor Show, the Bentley S2 represented a significant mechanical departure from its predecessor. The new 6,230 cc aluminium V8 was developed jointly by Rolls-Royce and Bentley and would, in evolved forms, underpin the marque's engines for decades. The standard S2 saloon shared its coachwork with the Silver Cloud II, and only a handful of chassis were entrusted to independent coachbuilders for bespoke bodywork during the model's three-year production life.

Wendler of Reutlingen: A Rare Chapter in Post-War Coachbuilding

Wendler Karosserie, based in Reutlingen, Germany, was among the respected European coachbuilders who worked on Rolls-Royce and Bentley rolling chassis in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their estate and shooting-brake conversions were typically commissioned by wealthy Continental clients seeking greater practicality from a luxury British chassis. Chassis LLBA9 — a left-hand-drive S2 — received a Wendler estate or wagon body circa 1960, finished in grey. The result is a coachbuilt one-off that sits among the rarest survivors of the entire S2 series.

The 1:43 Scale Model by Matrix Scale Models

Matrix Scale Models occupies a well-defined niche: hand-built resin replicas of coachbuilt, racing and low-volume road cars that mainstream diecast manufacturers routinely overlook. Their 1:43 rendition of the Wendler Estate Wagon is finished in grey, matching the known specification of the real car. Resin construction allows Matrix to reproduce the bespoke estate roofline and extended rear bodywork with a fidelity that a tooled diecast could rarely justify for a single-car subject. This may be the only 1:43 scale model of any Wendler-bodied Bentley in existence.

In the Display Cabinet

For collectors focused on post-war British luxury or on the craft of European coachbuilders, the Wendler estate represents a centrepiece subject: a verifiably unique real car reproduced at a scale that suits a focused, curated shelf.