Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley (known as W.O. Bentley or just "W.O."). Mr. Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotary aero-engines in World War I, the most famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel. Since 1998, the company has been owned by the Volkswagen Group of Germany.
As a separate company (1919–31)
Before World War I, W.O. Bentley had been in partnership with his brother H.M. Bentley selling French DFP cars, but he had always wanted to design and build his own range of cars bearing his name. In August 1919, Bentley Motors Ltd. was registered, and a chassis with dummy engine was exhibited at the London Motor Show in October of that year. An engine was built and running by December, and orders were taken for deliveries starting in June 1920; however, development took longer than estimated, and the first cars were not ready until September 1921.
It was on a visit to the DFP factory in 1913 that W.O. noticed an aluminium paperweight, and had the inspired idea of using the lightweight metal instead of cast iron to make engine pistons. The first Bentley aluminium pistons went into service in aero engines for the Sopwith Camel, in service during the Great War.
The company was always underfunded, and Bentley turned to millionaire Woolf Barnato for help in 1925. As part of a refinancing deal, which resulted in his effectively owning the company, Barnato became chairman. A great deal of Barnato's fortune was devoted to keeping Bentley afloat, but the Great Depression destroyed demand for the company's expensive products, and it was finally sold to Rolls-Royce in 1931.
The Bentley Boys
A group of wealthy British motorists known as the "Bentley Boys" (Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry Birkin, steeplechaser George Duller, aviator Glen Kidston, automotive journalist S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis, and Dr. Dudley Benjafield among them) kept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. Thanks to the dedication to serious racing of this group, the company, located at Cricklewood, north London, was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 hours of Le Mans from 1927 to 1930. Their greatest competitor at the time, Bugatti—whose lightweight, elegant, but fragile creations contrasted with the Bentley's rugged reliability and durability—referred to them as "the world's fastest lorries".
In March 1930, during the Blue Train Races, Woolf Barnato raised the stakes on Rover and its Rover Light Six, having raced and beat Le Train Bleu for the first time, to better that record with his 6½-litre Bentley Speed Six on a bet of £100. He drove against the train from Cannes to Calais, then by ferry to Dover, and finally London, travelling on public highways, and won; the H.J. Mulliner-bodied formal saloon he drove during the race as well as a streamlined fastback "Sportsman Coupe" by Gurney Nutting - he took delivery of on 21 May 1930 became known as the "Blue Train Bentleys"; the latter is regularly mistaken for (or erroneously referred to) as being the car that raced the Blue Train, while in fact Barnato named it in memory of his race.
Car models
The original model was the 3-litre, but as customers put heavier bodies on the chassis, a larger 4½-litre model followed. Perhaps the most iconic model of the period is the 4½-litre "Blower Bentley," with its distinctive supercharger projecting forward from the bottom of the grille. Uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley, it was not the racing workhorse the 6½-litre was. It became famous in popular media as the vehicle of James Bond in the original novels, but not in film; however, John Steed, in the television series The Avengers , did drive a Bentley.
- 1921–29 3-litre
- 1926–30 4½-litre & "Blower Bentley"
- 1926–30 6½-litre
- 1928–30 6½-litre Speed Six
- 1930–31 8-litre
- 1931 4-litre
The Rolls-Royce era (1931–98)
Rolls-Royce had bought Bentley secretly using a company named the British Central Equitable Trust; not even Bentley himself knew the true identity of the purchaser until the deal was completed. A new company, wholly owned by Rolls-Royce, was formed as Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. As W.O. Bentley was little more than an employee, he left to join Lagonda in 1935 when his contract was up for renewal. The Cricklewood factory was closed and sold, and production moved to the Rolls-Royce works in Derby.
When a new Bentley car appeared in 1933, the 3½-litre, it was a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25 - and although disappointing some traditional customers, it was well-received by many others. Even Bentley himself was reported as saying, "Taking all things into consideration, I would rather own this Bentley than any other car produced under that name".
After World War II, production of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars was moved to an ex-wartime engine factory in Crewe, Cheshire. Bentleys increasingly became Rolls-Royces without the distinctive grilles and with a lower price tag, and by the 1970s and early 1980s, sales had fallen badly, with at one time less than 5% of production carrying the Bentley badge.
The parent company failed in 1970 following problems with aero engine development, and the car division was floated off to become Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd. and remained independent until bought by Vickers in August 1980.
Under Vickers, Bentley began to regain its high-performance heritage, typified by the 1980 Mulsanne. Bentley's restored sporting image created a renewed interest in the name and sales as a proportion of combined company output began to rise. In 1986, the Rolls-Royce:Bentley ratio was 60:40; by 1991 it was 50:50.
The Bentley factory in Crewe, Cheshire, is still known in the town by the name "Royce's". For more on Bentley Motors from 1931 to 1998, see Rolls-Royce and Rolls-Royce Motors.
Car models
- 1933–37 3½-litre
- 1936–39 4¼-litre
- 1939–41 Mark V
- 1939 Mark V
- 1946–52 Mark VI
- 1952–55 R Type and Continental
- 1955–59 S1 and Continental
- 1959–62 S2 and Continental
- 1962–65 S3 and Continental
- 1965–80 T-series
- 1965–77 T1
- 1977–80 T2
- 1971–84 Corniche
- 1984–95 Continental — convertible
- 1992–95 Continental Turbo
- 1975–86 Camargue
- 1980–87 Mulsanne
- 1984–88 Mulsanne L — limousine
- 1982–85 Mulsanne Turbo
- 1987–92 Mulsanne S
- 1984–92 Eight — lower-priced model
- 1985–95 Turbo R — turbocharged performance version
- 1991–2002 Continental R — turbocharged 2-door model
- 1999–2003 Continental R Mulliner — performance model
- 1994–95 Continental S — intercooled
- 1992–98 Brooklands — improved Eight
- 1996–98 Brooklands R — performance Brooklands
- 1994–95 Turbo S — limited-edition sports model
- 1995–97 Turbo R — updated Turbo R
- 1995–97 Turbo RL — updated Turbo R LWB (Long Wheel Base)
- 1996 Turbo R Sport — limited-edition sports model
- 1995–2003 Azure — convertible Continental R
- 1999–2002 Azure Mulliner — performance model
- 1996–2002 Continental T — short-wheelbase performance model
- 1999 Continental T Mulliner — firmer suspension
- 1997–98 Bentley Turbo RT — replacement for the Turbo RL
Volkswagen Group ownership
In 1998, Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motors were purchased from Vickers by Volkswagen Group for £430 million, following a bidding war with BMW. BMW had recently started supplying components for the new range of Rolls and Bentley cars, notably V8 engines for the Bentley Arnage, and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. Volkswagen Group believed that the Rolls-Royce name was included in the purchase, when in fact it belonged to Rolls-Royce plc, the aero-engine company, and was used by the automobile division under licence. It also emerged that BMW's aeronautical division had a joint venture agreement with Rolls-Royce plc, and that the German company was able to termin
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