Brand histories
The History of Bentley
Autopapyrus
The Company Begins in 1919
It was founded by engineer Walter Owen Bentley, who had been passionate about mechanics, cars, and motorcycles since childhood and wasn't afraid to enter risky long-distance races. Of course, it all started small. At first, he and his brother Horace ran a taxi fleet in London, and then he opened a firm in the English capital selling French DFP cars. Bentley rightly considered racing the best advertising for his product.As we know, to win races a car has to reach a suitable speed. To boost this, Walter modified the engine of the French car using his own idea: a new design of aluminum pistons. The success of this development was cemented all the more by World War I, when aircraft needed light, reliable engines. During this time Bentley designed two new aircraft powerplants, the Bentley Rotary 1 and 2 (BR1 and BR2). These technical inventions not only made Bentley's reputation but also brought in plenty of money to invest in new developments.
The First Bentley Model
After the war ended, the Bentley brothers knew they would build their own cars. The first model, the 1919 Bentley 3 Litre, was shown at an exhibition in London and generated considerable public interest. It was fitted with a four-cylinder engine producing 65 horsepower. Despite the high price, the brothers immediately received a number of orders for the new car, which went on sale a little later, in 1921, in an improved form and with a five-year warranty.
Cars for wealthy enthusiasts were not at first the company's main source of income. The founding brothers placed great hopes on racing, where headline-making victories made the Bentley name famous and even helped form a group of racing fans and drivers known as the Bentley Boys. This was timely, because it was one of the wealthy Bentley Boys, Woolf Barnato, who saved the company from collapse in 1926. Still, the country's economic situation left much to be desired, and demand for premium cars kept falling. In 1931, the company, having lost its independence, was acquired by Rolls-Royce. In 1935, Walter Bentley left the firm.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce
The first thing the new owner did was register the Bentley trademark. Operations at the Cricklewood factory were halted. Interestingly, until 2004 Bentley cars used Rolls-Royce chassis and engines.In 1933 the Bentley 3½ Litre was released, essentially a sporting version of the Rolls-Royce 20/25. The car got mixed reviews. It was powered by a 110-horsepower engine, and the new Bentley could reach speeds of up to 145 km/h (90 mph).
Ahead of World War II, Rolls-Royce was given a plot of land in the western part of Crewe by the government. Production of military equipment was set up there before the war, and in peacetime the site was used to start assembling passenger cars.
For a while after the war, Bentley and Rolls-Royce suspended production of complete cars and concentrated on selling chassis. But engineering development continued, and the new Bentley Mark VI was built entirely at the manufacturer's factory and fitted with a special steel body. It was powered by a six-cylinder engine of 4.3 liters, or later 4.6 liters.
1952 was a successful year for Bentley. That year saw the release of the light and nimble R-Type Continental, equipped with a 4.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine. The model quickly earned the status of the fastest four-seat sedan, the best in Britain. Three years later the lineup was updated with the S-Series, which mirrored the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. This premium car was aimed at well-off owners who did without a personal chauffeur and drove themselves. The S2 later appeared, with a lightweight, hand-built eight-cylinder 6.2-liter (379 cu in) engine. That engine can still be found under the hood of a Bentley today.
In the mid-1960s the S3 Continental-based Series T was named the fastest coupe in the world, capable of accelerating to 273 km/h (170 mph). Another triumph came for Bentley in the 1980s, with the Mulsanne Turbo and Mulsanne Turbo R, which were regarded as the best sedans among rivals from other companies. And it was from the 1980s that the company began developing its own distinct model range. The Bentley name is now firmly associated with expensive, high-quality modern cars, to the point that even its "parent" Rolls-Royce has been slightly pushed aside in this respect.
From 1991 to 1996 a series of successful Bentley models came out, including the Bentley Continental T with a 400-horsepower engine, the most powerful road car the brand had built.
Sale to Volkswagen
In the summer of 1998, the Volkswagen Group acquired Rolls-Royce Motors, and from the start of 2003 the paths of Bentley and Rolls-Royce finally parted. They became independent companies.For a while there were rumors that the Bentley brand would cease to exist, but that was far from the truth. In fact, Volkswagen did not hesitate to invest half a billion pounds sterling to improve the production process and develop new, modern models. The result was the new 1999 Bentley Arnage Red Label with a 6.5-liter V8. And in 2001 Bentley returned to racing at Le Mans.
But the most important car in the company's entire history appeared, perhaps, in 2002: the Continental GT. At a show in its home country, the model won as the best premium car and was also named the best car of the show. This Bentley has a six-liter engine producing 575 horsepower, with fuel consumption of 26.5 liters per 100 km (about 8.9 mpg US).
Interestingly, it was this car that set the world speed record on ice: a Finnish driver managed to get his "steed" up to 321.65 km/h (199.9 mph).
Another important model that caught the attention of motoring fans appeared in 2012. At the Geneva presentation, the Bentley EXP 9 F SUV concept was shown for the first time. A year later Bentley again confirmed its star status by introducing the Continental GT Speed Convertible, the fastest in its class (powered by a 616-horsepower W12 engine and an eight-speed transmission).
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