seversky continued to develop the design with the hope of selling more aircraft both to the air corps and to civil and export customers. it modified the prototype sev-1xp as a single seat racer, the s-1 entering it into the 1937 bendix trophy, where it finished in fourth place. the competition was won by the s-2 (registration number nr70y), a similar aircraft built for frank fuller of the fuller paint company. s-2 also won the bendix trophy in 1939 and placed second in 1938. the aircraft was used to portray the "drake bullet" in the 1938 film "test pilot".