About Bentley

Bentley Motors Limited is an English manufacturer of luxury automobiles and Grand Tourers. Bentley Motors was founded in England on January 18, 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley, known as W.O. Bentley or just "W.O." (1888–1971). He was previously known for his successful 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.

Bentley as a separate company

Bentley is a group of wealthy British automobile aficionados 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 car's reputation for high performance alive. At one point, on a bet, Barnato raced Le Train Bleu from Cannes to Calais, then by ferry to Dover and finally London, travelling on public highways with normal traffic, and won ; the special-bodied 6.5L car became known as the Blue Train Bentley. Thanks to the dedication of this group to serious racing, 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". Perhaps the most iconic model of the period is the 4.5L "Blower Bentley", with its distinctive supercharger projecting forward from the bottom of the grille. Uncharacteristically fragile for a Bentley, however, 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; rather, John Steed in the television series The Avengers did drive a Bentley.

A great deal of Barnato's fortune went to keeping Bentley afloat after he became chairman in 1925; but the Great Depression destroyed demand for the company's expensive products, and it was finally sold to Rolls-Royce in 1931.

Bentley is now one of the most prestigous car manufactures in the whole world

• 1921-1929 3 Litre
• 1926-1930 4½ Litre & "Blower Bentley"
• 1926-1930 6½ Litre
• 1928-1930 6½ Litre Speed Six
• 1930-1931 8 Litre
• 1931 4 Litre

Bentleys of the Rolls-Royce era

Rolls-Royce merged the Bentley line into its own, so that the Bentley marque became just a Rolls-Royce without the distinctive grille and with a lower price tag. In the 1980s, however, Bentley became a separate, high performance car line once again. The most notable car in the Rolls-Royce period was probably the Bentley Continental, which appeared in various forms from 1952 to 1965, and again in 1992 with production ending in 2003. 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.

• 1933–1937 3½ Litre
  • 1936–1939 4¼ Litre
• 1939–1941 Mark V
  • 1939 Mark V
• 1946–1952 Mark VI
• 1952–1955 R Type and Continental
• 1955–1959 S1 and Continental
• 1959–1962 S2 and Continental
• 1962–1965 S3 and Continental
• 1965–1980 T-series
  • 1965–1977 T1
  • 1977–1980 T2
• 1971–1984 Corniche
  • 1984–1995 Continental — convertible
    • 1992–1995 Continental Turbo
• 1975–1986 Camargue
• 1980–1987 Mulsanne
  • 1984–1988 Mulsanne L limousine
  • 1982–1985 Mulsanne Turbo
  • 1987–1992 Mulsanne S
  • 1984–1992 Eight — lower-priced model
  • 1985–1995 Turbo R — turbocharged performance version
  • 1991–2002 Continental R — turbocharged 2-door model
    • 1999–2003 Continental R Mulliner — performance model
    • 1994–1995 Continental S — intercooled
  • 1992–1998 Brooklands — improved Eight
    • 1996–1998 Brooklands R — performance Brooklands
  • 1994–1995 Turbo S — limited-edition sports model
  • 1995–1997 Turbo R — updated Turbo R
    • 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
  • 1997–1998 Bentley Turbo RT — replacement for the Turbo R

Volkswagen Group ownership

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