Bentley History

Walter Owen Bentley founded Bentley Motor Limited in 1919. Bentley had Bentley had sold cars in partnership with his brother before the First World War, and he had been involved in the design of engine parts for airplanes during the war. However, W.O., as he was known, was interested in designing his own cars. The first Bentley cars were manufactured in 1921.

Bentley was effectively bought by investor Woolf Barnato in 1925. Barnato, along with his fellow motorists, known as the Bentley Boys, helped to build the company's reputation for high performance. Bentley cars achieved four consecutive Le Mans victories between 1927 and 1930. Bentley's rugged vehicles contrasted with their main competitor Bugatti's elegant vehicles, and were known as the world's fastest lorries.

The Great Depression decimated demand for Bentley cars, and the company was sold, in 1931, to Rolls-Royce. Rolls-Royce kept the purchase secret, even from Bentley, until it was completed, by using a separate entity, the British Central Equitable Trust, to buy the company. W.O. left in 1935 to join Lagonda. Rolls-Royce moved production to their own plant in Derby. The Bentley 3.5 Litre was released in 1933.

After the Second World War, Rolls-Royce moved production to Crewe. Bentleys manufactured during this period were typically cheaper versions of Rolls-Royce cars, without the familiar square Rolls Royce grille. Sales of the Bentley cars had become very low by the 70s and the start of the 80s. The parent company of Rolls-Royce's experienced severe problems, and failed in 1970. The car manufacturing division was split from the rest of the company. It became Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd and it was run as an independent company until it was taken over by Vickers plc in 1980.

Vickers began to rebuild the Bentley reputation as a high performance brand. The Mulsanne, released in 1980, was a key part of this new image. Production and sales climbed. During the 1970s and 80s, Bentley had dropped to a low of only 5 percent of the Rolls-Royce and Bentley brand. By 1986, the ratio had changed to production of 60 percent Rolls Royce and 40 percent Bentley cars. In 1991, production became 50:50.

Vickers sold Rolls-Royce and Bentley to the Volkswagen Group in 1998. BMW had also shown an interest, and the two manufacturers had entered a bidding war, with Volkswagen becoming the winner. Volkswagen had mistakenly believed that they were purchasing the Rolls-Royce name, but this in fact remained the property of the Rolls-Royce plc company. The automobile manufacturer was only using this name under license. At the time, BMW was manufacturing V8 engines for the Bentley Arnage and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, under a contract that it could end with a year's notice. Volkswagen negotiated a new agreement with BMW under which BMW would produce engines for Bentley and Rolls-Royce vehicles until 2002. Volkswagen also bought a license to use the Rolls-Royce name from Rolls-Royce plc. In 2003, the license for the Rolls-Royce name would be transferred to BMW. Volkswagen was still supplied engines by BMW that it needed, until 2003, by which time Volkswagen had been able to reintroduce the Rolls-Royce V8 engine.

Volkswagen modernized the Crewe plant and increased car production. This also helped to create a significant number of new jobs in the factory. A number of new Bentley models have been introduced, including the Bentley Continental GT and the Continental Supersports. Bentley also manufactured the State Limousine in 2002 for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.