Bentley facts for kids

For other uses, see Bentley (disambiguation).

Quick facts for kids
Bentley Motors Limited

Formerly	Rolls-Royce Motors Limited (1970–1986) Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited (1986–1999) Rolls-Royce & Bentley Motor Cars Limited (1999–2002)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Automotive
Fate	1931: acquired by Rolls-Royce Limited 1980: acquired by Vickers 1998: acquired by Volkswagen Group
Founded	18 January 1919; 107 years ago (1919-01-18)
Founders	H. M. Bentley W. O. Bentley
Headquarters	Crewe , England
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Frank Walliser (chairman, CEO) John Paul Gregory (Head of Exterior Design) Darren Day (head of interior design)
Products	Flying Spur Continental GT Bentayga
Production output	10,643 vehicles (2024) 13,560 vehicles (2023) 9,107 vehicles (2012)
Services	Automobile customisation
Revenue	€2,650 million (2024) €1,453 million (2012)
Net income	€8 million (2011) −€245 million (2010)
Owner	Volkswagen Group (since 1998)
Number of employees	3,600 (2013)
Parent	Audi

Bentley Motors Limited is a famous British car company. It makes luxury cars and powerful SUVs. The main headquarters of Bentley is in Crewe, England. An engineer named W. O. Bentley started the business in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London. The company became world-famous for building fast machines that won the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Bentley race cars took first place in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, and 2003.

Bentley has belonged to the Volkswagen Group since 1998. It works closely with sister company Audi. Today, skilled craftspeople build beloved modern cars like the sleek Continental GT, the spacious Flying Spur, and the large Bentayga SUV. Bentley is celebrated for mixing high racing speed with fine handmade luxury.

The Early Story of Bentley Motors

1919 Bentley EXP2 (Experimental nr. 2), the oldest surviving Bentley

Before the First World War, W. O. Bentley worked with his brother Horace Millner Bentley. Together, they sold French Doriot, Flandrin & Parant cars in Cricklewood. But W. O. Bentley dreamed of creating his own fast machines. In 1913, he noticed an aluminium paperweight on a desk. He wondered if light aluminium could replace heavy cast iron in engine pistons. His new aluminium pistons worked wonderfully. British Sopwith Camel fighter planes used them during the war.

On 18 January 1919, the very day the Paris Peace Conference began, W. O. Bentley formed his company. Talented designers soon joined him. Harry Varley arrived from Vauxhall Motors. Designer Frederick Tasker Burgess came from Humber Limited. A former Royal Flying Corps officer named Clive Gallop designed an advanced overhead camshaft. Together, they built a strong 3-litre engine. Bentley showed off a rolling car frame at the London Motor Show in late 1919.

The team named their early testing cars EXP1 and EXP2. EXP2 became the oldest surviving Bentley in history. The third car was purchased by Ivor Llewelyn, whose son was actor Desmond Llewelyn. These durable cars quickly started winning hill climbs and track races at the famous Brooklands circuit.

Racing Across the Ocean

Bentley soon wanted to prove its strength internationally. In 1922, the company traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to enter the 1922 Indianapolis 500. American racing teams dominated this event using specialized cars with Duesenberg frames. Bentley entered a modified road car instead.

Works driver Douglas Hawkes drove the car alongside riding mechanic H. S. "Bertie" Browning. Hawkes drove the entire 500-mile distance without giving up. He climbed from 19th position to finish in 13th place. His car maintained an average speed of nearly 75 miles per hour. The team then rushed back to Europe to tackle the famous 1922 RAC Tourist Trophy race.

Classic Cricklewood Models

Bentley 8 Litre 4-door sports saloon

Between 1919 and 1931, Bentley built several legendary machines at Cricklewood:

1921–1929 3-litre
1926–1931 6½-litre
1927–1931 4½-litre & "Blower Bentley"
1928–1931 6½-litre Speed Six
1930–1931 8-litre
1931 4-litre

The first road vehicle was the 3-litre. Over time, buyers wanted heavier passenger bodies. Bentley designed the larger 6½-litre engine to carry this extra weight. In 1927, engineers created the 4½-litre engine by removing two cylinders from the big six-cylinder engine. A 4½-litre model driven by Woolf Barnato and Bernard Rubin won the Le Mans endurance race in 1928.

Author Ian Fleming chose the classic 4½-litre Bentley as the car for James Bond in his earliest spy novels. In the television series The Avengers, secret agent John Steed also drove a green Bentley.

The Supercharged Blower Bentley

1929 Blower Bentley

One of the most famous cars ever built was the Blower Bentley. Racing driver Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin wanted to make the 4½-litre car much faster. He added a large supercharger to the front of the vehicle. The supercharger pushed extra air directly into the engine cylinders.

W. O. Bentley strongly disliked this change. He believed supercharging would ruin his durable design and cause breakdowns. Birkin went ahead anyway and built special race cars, including Bentley Blower No.1. The Blower Bentleys were amazingly quick, but their stressed engines broke down often. They never won an endurance race at Le Mans. Still, Birkin scored a brave second place in the French Grand Prix at Pau, finishing behind Philippe Etancelin in a Bugatti Type 35.

Woolf Barnato and the Bentley Boys

The young company faced constant financial worries. Fortunately, wealthy sports car lover Woolf Barnato stepped in to help. Barnato had inherited great family wealth from South African diamond and gold mines. After watching John Duff and Frank Clement win Le Mans in 1924, Barnato fell in love with Bentley cars. In 1926, he invested more than £100,000 to save the firm. Barnato took control as chairman and funded new automotive projects.

Barnato belonged to a daring group of friends called the Bentley Boys. This group included Birkin, steeplechase rider George Duller, aviator Glen Kidston, doctor Dudley Benjafield, and journalist S.C.H. "Sammy" Davis. These drivers loved high speeds, grand adventures, and British engineering.

Racing the Blue Train

In March 1930, Barnato made an exciting bet during dinner. A car made by the Rover Company, the Rover Light Six, had recently beaten the express train called Le Train Bleu. Barnato wagered £100 that his Bentley Speed Six could beat the train with ease.

Barnato started driving from Cannes in the south of France right when the train left. He drove hundreds of miles along public roads up to Calais. He boarded a steam ferry across the English Channel to Dover. He then sped along British roads to London. Barnato reached his club before the express train even reached Calais!

Coachbuilder H.J. Mulliner had made the car body Barnato drove during the actual race. Two months later, Barnato received a second car from builder Gurney Nutting. Both machines became known worldwide as the Blue Train Bentleys. Artist Terence Cuneo later painted a famous scene of this vehicle racing the train tracks.

Victories at Le Mans

Bentley Speed Six

Bentley became a legend at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans race in France:

1923 – 4th place
1924 – 1st place
1927 – 1st place
1928 – 1st place
1929 – 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place sweep
1930 – 1st and 2nd place

The mighty Bentley Speed Six scored back-to-back victories in 1929 and 1930. After winning five times, Bentley retired from official factory racing in 1930. The company announced it had learned everything it needed about speed and mechanical reliability.

The Rolls-Royce Era

"The silent sports car"
1935 Bentley 3½ litre cabriolet

The worldwide financial crisis known as the Great Depression followed the Wall Street crash of 1929. Expensive luxury goods became difficult to sell. By July 1931, Bentley could no longer pay its bank debts, and a financial receiver took control.

A company named Napier tried to buy Bentley. Suddenly, a group called the British Central Equitable Trust entered a higher bid of £125,000. This trust was actually a secret buyer acting for rival carmaker Rolls-Royce Limited. Rolls-Royce bought Bentley to stop it from outperforming their own flagship models.

The Silent Sports Car at Derby

Rolls-Royce closed the Cricklewood site and moved production to their factory in Derby. W. O. Bentley worked for Rolls-Royce for a short period before leaving in 1935 to join rival carmaker Lagonda.

In 1933, the company launched the Bentley 3½ litre. This new model shared major mechanical parts with the luxurious Rolls-Royce 20/25. Rolls-Royce called this fine vehicle "the silent sports car" because it was both quiet and fast. A slightly bigger 4¼-litre version followed, alongside the rare Mark V. For several decades, cars from both brands shared identical chassis designs through shared manufacturing.

Moving to Crewe for War Production

Bentley Mark VI standard steel saloon

Before World War II started, the British Government worked with Rolls-Royce to open a secure shadow factory. They picked the town of Crewe in North West England. Crewe had excellent railway lines and sat safely away from European bombers.

Workers began building the factory on open farmland in July 1938. Five months later, the plant was manufacturing powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin airplane engines. The factory made 25,000 Merlin engines to power legendary fighter planes. When the war ended, Rolls-Royce used Derby for modern jet engine work and moved all motorcar building to Crewe.

Factory Steel Bodies and the Continental

Bentley Continental S fastback coupe

Before the war, automakers only built a rolling chassis, which was a bare frame with an engine and wheels. Wealthy customers hired an outside coachbuilder to construct custom wooden and metal bodies.

After 1945, the company used pre-pressed metal panels from the Pressed Steel business. This allowed Crewe to assemble complete metal cars in large numbers. The historic Bentley Mark VI was the first factory-built steel saloon car. It hit the road in 1946. Later, the company built the similar R Type saloon.

In 1952, Bentley revealed the stunning R Type Continental. Coachbuilder H. J. Mulliner created a lightweight, curved aerodynamic shape for it. Other custom body builders included Park Ward, Graber, Franay, and Italian designer Pininfarina. It was the fastest four-seat luxury car in the world.

Later models included the handsome S1, S2, and S3. In 1965, the modern T1 and its updated brother, the T2, arrived using modern one-piece monocoque body designs.

Changes Under Vickers Ownership

1984 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo

Rolls-Royce ran into severe financial trouble in 1971 while developing the advanced RB211 commercial airplane jet engine. The British government stepped in, separating the airplane engine division from the automotive branch. In 1980, British engineering firm Vickers plc purchased the car business.

During the late 1970s, Bentley sales had fallen to tiny numbers. Vickers decided to bring back Bentley's legendary sporting identity. In 1980, they introduced the stately Bentley Mulsanne. Soon after, they added a high-power turbocharger to create the roaring Mulsanne Turbo.

Restoring the Bentley Legend

Bentley soon introduced the fast Turbo R sports sedan. Enthusiastic buyers returned to showrooms. In 1984, the company offered the simpler Eight and the open-top Continental convertible.

In the 1990s, Crewe introduced the sleek two-door Continental R coupe, the intercooled Continental S, and the shorter, muscular Continental T. Drivers loved the open-air Azure convertible and the four-door Brooklands luxury saloon. By 1991, Bentley was selling just as many cars as Rolls-Royce.

Joining the Volkswagen Group

1998 Bentley Arnage T

Queen Elizabeth II's Bentley State Limousine

In late 1997, Vickers put the automotive firm up for auction. German carmaker BMW made an initial bid of £340 million. But rival giant Volkswagen AG won the auction with a higher bid of £430 million.

Volkswagen purchased the Crewe factory, the historic toolings, and vehicle designs. However, the aero-engine company Rolls-Royce plc kept ownership of the Rolls-Royce trademark name. BMW paid £40 million to license the Rolls-Royce name. The two German auto giants reached an agreement. Volkswagen built both car brands at Crewe until 2002. Starting in 2003, BMW opened a brand-new factory in Goodwood for Rolls-Royce cars. Volkswagen kept full ownership of Bentley and the historic Crewe factory.

Volkswagen immediately spent £500 million to modernize Crewe. They added computer-guided machinery, expanded assembly rooms, and hired hundreds of local craftspeople. In 2002, Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with a custom-built Bentley State Limousine for her royal Golden Jubilee.

Modern High-Speed Luxury

2005 Bentley Continental Flying Spur

2019 Flying Spur W12

In 2003, Bentley launched the revolutionary all-wheel-drive Continental GT. Powered by an enormous 12-cylinder W12 engine, the Continental GT became a massive worldwide hit. The factory at Crewe had so many orders that Volkswagen built extra cars at its Transparent Factory in Dresden, Germany.

Bentley quickly expanded its modern lineup:

The Continental Flying Spur luxury sedan.
The Continental GTC convertible.
The mighty Arnage limousine and the updated Azure convertible.
The bio-fuel powered Continental Supersports.
The bespoke, Italian-styled GTZ built by design house Zagato.
The brand-new flagship Mulsanne luxury sedan.
The powerful Bentayga sport utility vehicle, featuring body panels pressed at the modern Volkswagen Bratislava Plant.

Moving Toward an Electric Future

Like other automakers, Bentley began preparing for cleaner driving technologies. In 2018, CEO Adrian Hallmark introduced hybrid power choices for the Bentayga SUV at the Geneva International Motor Show. Bentley pledged that its entire lineup of luxury machines would use modern electric drivetrains.

Motorsport Success in the Modern Era

Bentley made an exciting return to high-level endurance racing in the 21st century. Between 2001 and 2003, green factory prototypes tackled the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 2003, the sleek Bentley Speed 8 race car won its class in America at the 12 Hours of Sebring. A few months later, the Speed 8 captured first and second place overall at the 2003 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was Bentley's first overall win at Le Mans in 73 years! Later on, factory-backed M-Sport teams built the thunderous Bentley Continental GT3 race car, winning the Silverstone race in the international Blancpain Endurance Series.