Bentley

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For other uses, see Bentley (disambiguation).
Bentley Motors Limited

Type Private
Industry Automobile manufacturing
Fate Purchased by Volkswagen AG (July, 1998)
[1]

Founded January 18, 1919
Founder(s)
H. M. Bentley
W. O. Bentley
Headquarters Crewe, Cheshire, United Kingdom
[2]

Area served Worldwide
Key people Wolfgang Drheimer(Chairman, Board of Management)
[2]

Woolf Barnato (Chairman 1922-1929)
Products Continental Flying Spur
Continental GT
Mulsanne
[3]

Production
output
7,593 vehicles (2011)
4,854 vehicles (2010)
[4]

Revenue 1,119 million (2011)
721 million (2010)
[4]

Net income 8 million (2011)
-245 million (2010)
[5]

Employees 3,500 (2011)
[6]

Parent Volkswagen AG
[6]

Website bentleymotors.com
References:
[7][8]



Bentley's winged "B" badge and bonnet (hood) ornament
Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of luxury automobiles founded on 18 January 1919 by W. O.
Bentley. Bentley had been previously known for his range of rotaryaero-engines in World War I, the most
famous being the Bentley BR1 as used in later versions of the Sopwith Camel. After the war, W. O. Bentley
designed and made production cars that won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1924 and following models which
repeated those successes each June 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930.
Purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931, when production was moved from London to Derby and later to Crewe, this
business has been owned by the Volkswagen Group of Germany since 1998. The business is still based
in Crewe, Cheshire, England, with their Central Production Facilities there. As of November 2012, China is the
largest market for Bentley automobiles.
[9]

Contents
[hide]
1 Cricklewood
o 1.1 Performance at Le Mans
o 1.2 Barnato becomes Chairman
o 1.3 The Bentley Boys
o 1.4 Car models, Cricklewood
o 1.5 Sale to Rolls-Royce
2 Derby
o 2.1 "The Silent Sports Car"
o 2.2 Car models, Derby
3 Crewe
o 3.1 Post-war standard-steel saloons
o 3.2 Badge engineering
o 3.3 Bentley Continental
o 3.4 Car models, Crewe
4 Vickers
o 4.1 Car models, Crewe Vickers
5 Volkswagen
o 5.1 BMW versus VW
o 5.2 Car models, Crewe VW & BMW
o 5.3 Modern Bentleys
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links
[edit]Cricklewood
Before World War I, Walter Owen Bentley had been in partnership with his brother Horace Millner 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.
[10]
An innovative 4 valves per cylinder engine designed by ex-
Royal Flying Corpsofficer Clive Gallop 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.
[10]
Their durability earned widespread acclaim. Appearances were made in hill climbs and
at Brooklands and a single entry in the 1922 Indianapolis 500 mile race driven by Douglas Hawkes finished at
an average speed in excess of 80 miles an hour.
[edit]Performance at Le Mans


Bentley Speed Six
24 hours of Le Mans Grand Prix of Endurance
1923 4th (private entry)
1924 1st
1925 did not finish
1926 did not finish
1927 1st 15th 17th
1928 1st 5th
1929 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
1930 1st 2nd
Rolls-Royce stopped the racing programme
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 during World War I.
[edit]Barnato becomes Chairman
Woolf Barnato acquired his first Bentley (a 3-litre) in 1925, just 12 months before he also acquired the business
itself. With this car he won numerous Brooklands races. He was a member of a social set of wealthy British
motorists known as the "Bentley Boys" who favoured the cars of W. O. Bentley. Many were independently
wealthy, often with a background in military service. Barnato wasnicknamed "Babe", in ironic deference to
his heavyweight boxer's stature.
The Bentley enterprise was always underfunded, but inspired by the 1924 Le Mans win by John Duff and Frank
Clement, Barnato agreed to finance Bentley's business. Barnato had incorporated Baromans Ltd in 1922,
which existed as his finance and investment vehicle. Via Baromans, Barnato initially invested in excess of
100,000, saving the business and its workforce. A financial reorganisation of the original Bentley company
was carried out and all existing creditors paid off for 75,000. Existing shares were devalued from 1 each to
just 1 shilling, or 5% or their original value. Barnato held 149,500 of the new shares giving him control of the
company and he became chairman. Barnato injected further cash into the business: 35,000 secured by
debenture in July 1927; 40,000 in 1928; 25,000 in 1929. With renewed financial input, W. O. Bentley was
able to design another generation of cars.
[edit]The Bentley Boys


1929 4 litre "Blower" Bentley
developed in Welwyn Garden City by "Tim" Birkin and pushed over W.O. to market before it was reliable
A group of wealthy British motorists known as the "Bentley Boys" Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry "Tim"
Birkin, steeplechaser George Duller, aviator Glen Kidston, automotive journalistS.C.H. "Sammy" Davis, and Dr
Dudley Benjafield among themkept the marque's reputation for high performance alive. Bentley, located
at Cricklewood, north London, was noted for its four consecutive victories at the 24 hours of Le Mans from
1927 to 1930.
In 1929, Birkin had developed the lightweight Blower Bentley, including five racing specials that started with the
Brooklands racing designed Bentley Blower No.1.
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 6-litre Bentley Speed
Six on a bet of 100. He drove against the train fromCannes 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 Coup" by Gurney Nuttinghe took delivery of on 21 May
1930became 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.
[11][12]

[edit]Car models, Cricklewood


Bentley 8 Litre 4-door sports saloon
192129 3-litre
192630 4-litre & "Blower Bentley"
192630 6-litre
192830 6-litre Speed Six
193031 8-litre
1931 4-litre
The original model was the 3-litre, but as customers put heavier bodies on the chassis, a larger 4-litre model
followed. Perhaps the most iconic model of the period is the 4-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 6-litre was. It became famous in popular media as the vehicle of
choice of James Bond in the original novels, but this has been seen only briefly in the films. John Steed in the
television series The Avengers drove a Bentley.
The new 8-litre was such a success that when Barnato's money seemed to run out in 1931 and Napier was
planning to buy Bentley's business, Rolls-Royce purchased Bentley Motors to prevent competition for the
market of their most expensive model, Phantom II.
[edit]Sale to Rolls-Royce
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 affected the Bentley business greatly, with the Great Depression reducing
demand for its expensive products. In July 1931, two mortgage payments on the firm that were guaranteed by
Barnato fell due, and he advised the lenders that he was "unable to meet these debts." On 10 July, on the
application of the mortgagee, the court appointed a Receiver to Bentley Motors Limited.
[13]

The Press Association understands that Messrs Napier and Son, aero-engine builders, have reached an agreement to take over
Bentley Motors Limited which is in voluntary liquidation. It is expected that the matter will come before the Court within the next few
days.
Press Association, Napier To Absorb Bentley Motors, The Times, Saturday, Oct 24, 1931; pg. 18; Issue 45962
Napier & Son negotiated with Bentley's receiver to buy the company, with the takeover expected to be made
final in November 1931. Instead, a competitor named British Central Equitable Trust offered a counter-proposal
at that time and outbid Napier in a sealed bid auction. British Central Equitable Trust later proved to be
a front for Rolls-Royce Limited.
[14]
for the sum of 125,000.
[15]

Barnato received around 42,000 in return for his shares in Bentley Motors, having bought a sizeable stake in
Rolls-Royce not long before Bentley Motors was liquidated.
[citation needed]
By 1934 he was appointed to the board
of the new Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd.
[16]

This attempted total obliteration of Bentley Motors and its founder was one outcome of a highly personal
"vendetta" between the two engineers, Hives and Bentley, two men of quite different natures, begun in 1914
when Bentley was made official liaison between Government and aero engine manufacturers.
[citation
needed]
Bentley's abiding weaknesses were in sometimes poor personal relationships combined with his apparent
inability to curb spending on development. The 8-Litre was acknowledged
[by whom?]
to be the better if more
expensive car. Bentley may have been the better engineer.
[citation needed]
He accepted the position of patron of the
Bentley Drivers' Club just before the end of Woolf Barnato's term as its president.
[edit]Derby
[edit]"The Silent Sports Car"


1935 Bentley 3-litre Cabriolet
Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley using an entity named the British Central Equitable Trust; not even Bentley
himself knew the true identity of the purchaser until the deal was completed.
[10]
A new company, wholly owned
by Rolls-Royce, was formed, Bentley Motors (1931) Ltd. TheCricklewood factory was closed and sold, and
production moved to the Rolls-Royce works inDerby. Unhappy with his role at Rolls-Royce, when his contract
expired at the end of April 1935 W. O. Bentley left to join Lagonda.
When the new Bentley 3 litre appeared in 1933, it was a sporting variant of the Rolls-Royce 20/25, which
disappointed some traditional customers yet 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".
[10]

[edit]Car models, Derby
193337 3-litre
193639 4-litre
193941 Mark V
1939 Mark V
[edit]Crewe


1952 Bentley R Type: an evolution of the Mark VI, which was the first Bentley available from the manufacturer with a standard body.
Until World War II, companies like Bentley and Rolls-Royce did not supply complete cars. They sold a rolling
chassis, near-complete from the instrument panel forward. This was delivered to the coachbuilder of the
buyer's choice. The biggest dealerships had coachbuilders build standard designs for them and held them in
stock awaiting potential buyers.
[edit]Post-war standard-steel saloons
This being so it made sense to meet postwar demand for much more ruggedly constructed cars by the Crewe
factory assembling complete vehicles using bought-in pressings. Rolling chassis were still available to
coachbuilders.
[edit]Badge engineering
After World War II production of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars was moved to an ex-wartime engine factory
in Crewe, Cheshire and standard-steel Bentleys were slightly lower priced Rolls-Royces without the Rolls'
distinctive square-shouldered grille.
[edit]Bentley Continental


Bentley Continental, fastback coup body by H J Mulliner


Bentley S-series Standard Saloon


Bentley T-series Standard Saloon (l.w.b.)
The Continental fastback coup was produced principally for the domestic home market, the majority of cars
produced (165, including a prototype) being right-hand drive. The chassis was produced at the Crewe factory
and shared many components with the standard R type. Other than the R-Type standard steel saloon, R-Type
Continentals were delivered as rolling chassis to the coachbuilder of choice. Coachwork for most of these cars
was completed byH. J. Mulliner & Co. who mainly built them in fastback coupe form. Other coachwork came
from Park Ward (London) who built six, later including a drophead coupe version. Franay (Paris) built five,
Graber (Wichtrach, Switzerland) built three, one of them later altered by Kng (Basle, Switzerland),
and Pininfarina made one. James Young (London) built in 1954 a Sports Saloon for the owner of James
Young's, James Barclay.
The early R Type Continental has essentially the same engine as the standard R Type, but with modified
carburation, induction and exhaust manifolds along with higher gear ratios.
[17]
After July 1954 the car was fitted
with an engine, having now a larger bore of 94.62 mm (3.7 in) with a total displacement of 4,887 cc (4.9 L;
298.2 cu in). The compression ratio was raised to 7.25:1.
[edit]Car models, Crewe
Standard-steel saloon
194652 Mark VI
195255 R Type
Continental
195255 R Type Continental
S-series
195559 S1 and Continental
195962 S2 and Continental
196265 S3 and Continental
T-series
196577 T1
197780 T2
197184 Corniche
197586 Camargue
[edit]Vickers
The problems of Bentley's owner with Rolls-Royce aero engine development, the RB211, brought about the
financial collapse of its business in 1970.
The motorcar division was made a separate business, Rolls-Royce Motors Limited, which remained
independent until bought by Vickers plc in August 1980. By the 1970s and early 1980s Bentley sales had fallen
badly; at one point less than 5% of combined production carried the Bentley badge.
[10]
Under Vickers, Bentley
set about regaining its high-performance heritage, typified by the 1980 Mulsanne. Bentley's restored sporting
image created a renewed interest in the name and Bentley sales as a proportion of output began to rise. By
1986 the Bentley:Rolls-Royce ratio had reached 40:60; by 1991 it achieved parity.
[10]

[edit]Car models, Crewe Vickers


1984 Bentley Mulsanne Turbo


Bentley Brooklands
198495 Continental convertible
199295 Continental Turbo
198092 Bentley Mulsanne
198488 Mulsanne L limousine
198285 Mulsanne Turbo
198792 Mulsanne S
198492 Eight basic model
198595 Turbo R turbocharged performance version
19912002 Continental R turbocharged 2-door model
199495 Continental S intercooled
19962002 Continental T
19992003 Continental R Mulliner performance model
199298 Brooklands improved Eight
199698 Brooklands R performance Brooklands
199495 Turbo S limited-edition sports model
199597 New Turbo R "updated" Turbo R
19952003 Azure convertible Continental R
19962002 Continental T short-wheelbase performance model
199798 Turbo RL "new" Turbo R LWB (Long Wheel Base)
199798 Bentley Turbo RT replacement for the Turbo RL
199798 RT Mulliner Ultra exclusive performance model
[edit]Volkswagen

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section byadding
citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(September 2010)
[edit]BMW versus VW
In 1998, Vickers decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. The leading contender seemed to be BMW, who already
supplied engines and other components for Bentley (and Rolls-Royce) cars and because of their long-lasting
joint efforts in building aero engines. Their final offer of 340m was outbid by Volkswagen Group, who offered
430m. Volkswagen Group got the Crewe works and found it held the rights to Rolls-Royce's "Spirit of Ecstasy"
mascot and the shape of that radiator grille but no rights to the Rolls-Royce name or logo. In 1998 BMW started
supplying components for the new range of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars - notably V8 engines for the Bentley
Arnage and V12 engines for the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph. It also emerged that BMW was able to terminate its
supply deal with Rolls-Royce with 12 months' notice, which would not be enough time for Volkswagen Group to
re-engineer the cars.
BMW paid aero engine-maker Rolls-Royce plc 40m to license the Rolls-Royce name and "RR" logo - a deal
that many commentators thought was a bargain for possibly the most valuable property in the deal
[citation needed]
.
Bentley was the higher volume brand, with Bentley models out-selling the equivalent Rolls Royce by around
two to one
[citation needed]
.


Bentley Azure Mulliner 2003 Final Series
After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen Group arrived at a solution. From 1998 to 2002, BMW would
continue to supply engines for the cars and would allow Volkswagen temporary use of the Rolls-Royce name
and logo. Bentley reintroduced the venerable Rolls-Royce V8 engine into the Arnage, initially as an additional
model, and all BMW engine supply ended in 2003 with the end of Silver Seraph production. From 1 January
2003 forward, Volkswagen Group would be the sole provider of cars with the "Bentley" marque. Rolls-Royce
production was relocated to their Goodwood plant in Goodwood, West Sussex, England.
[edit]Car models, Crewe VW & BMW
19992002 Azure Mullinerperformance model
1999 Continental T Mullinerfirmer suspension
[edit]Modern Bentleys


The Bentley line-up from late 2000s (from left): Flying Spur, Continental GT, andArnage


Queen Elizabeth II's Bentley State Limousine
After acquiring the business, Volkswagen spent GBP500 million (about US$845 million) to modernise the
Crewe factory and increase production capacity.
[18]
As of early 2010, there are about 3,500 working at Crewe,
compared with about 1,500 in 1998 before being taken over by Volkswagen.
[19]
It was reported that Volkswagen
invested a total of nearlyUSD2 billion in Bentley and its revival.
[20]

In 2002, Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine to celebrate her Golden Jubilee.
In 2003, Bentley's two-door convertible, the Bentley Azure, ceased production, and Bentley introduced a
second line, Bentley Continental GT, a large luxury coup powered by a W12 engine built in Crewe.
Demand had been so great that the factory at Crewe was unable to meet orders despite an installed capacity of
approximately 9,500 vehicles per year; there was a waiting list of over a year for new cars to be delivered.
Consequently, part of the production of the new Flying Spur, a four-door version of the Continental GT, was
assigned to the Transparent Factory(Germany), where the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury car is also assembled.
This arrangement ceased at the end of 2006 after around 1,000 cars, with all car production reverting to the
Crewe plant.
In April 2005, Bentley confirmed plans to produce a four-seat convertible modelthe Azure, derived from
the Arnage Drophead Coup prototypeat Crewe beginning in 2006. By the autumn of 2005, the convertible
version of the successful Continental GT, the Continental GTC, was also presented. These two models were
successfully launched in late 2006.
A limited run of a Zagato modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed "GTZ".
A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show: The Continental
Supersports. This new Bentley is a supercar combining extreme power with environmentally friendly FlexFuel
technology, capable of using petrol (gasoline) and biofuel (E85 ethanol).
Bentley sales continued to increase, and in 2005 8,627 were sold worldwide, 3,654 in the United States. In
2007, the 10,000 cars-per-year threshold was broken for the first time with sales of 10,014. For 2007, a record
profit of 155 million was also announced.
[21]
Bentley reported a sale of about 7,600 units in 2008.
[22]
However,
its global sales plunged 50 percent to 4,616 vehicles in 2009 (with the U.S. deliveries dropped 49% to 1,433
vehicles) and it suffered an operating loss of 194 million, compared with an operating profit of10 million in
2008.
[18][23]
As a result of the slump in sales, production at Crewe was shut down during March and April
2009.
[24]
Though vehicle sales increased by 11% to 5,117 in 2010, operating loss grew by 26%
to 245 million.
[25]
In Autumn 2010, workers at Crewe staged a series of protests over proposal of compulsory
work on Fridays and mandatory overtime during the week.
[26]

Vehicle sales in 2011 rose 37% to 7,003 vehicles, with the new Continental GT accounting for over one-third of
total sales. The current workforce is about 4,000 people.
The business earned a profit in 2011 after two years of losses as a result of the following sales results:
[27]



1998


2005

2011
Year Profit Staff
Total
sales
USA
sales
China
sales
Europe
exc UK
UK
sales
Other
sales
Middle
East
Asia
Pacific
Japan
sales
1998

1500 414

1999

1001

2000

1469

2001

1429

2002

1157

36

2003

1017

2004

7411

2005

8627 3654 500

2006 +137

9387

2007 +155

10014

2008 +10

7605

2009 -194 3500 4616 1433 489

897

2010 -245

5117 1525 910 776 982 924

2011 8 4000 7003 2021 1839 1187 1031 925

2012
Q1
[28]

1759 468 578 207 233 273

2012
Q2
2170 672 481 400 324

2012
Q1 &
Q2
[29]


3929 1140 1059 607 557 220 346

Sources Volkswagen AG Annual Reports (except 2012)
[30]

1998: Arnage saloon
1999: Hunaudieres Concept
2002: State Limousine
2003: Continental GT coup
2005: Continental Flying Spur saloon
2006: Azure convertible
2006: Continental GT convertible
2007: Continental GT Speed coup
2008: Bentley Brooklands coup
2008: Bentley Continental Flying Spur (2005) Speed saloon
2009: Continental GTC Speed
2009: Azure T
2009: Arnage saloon, Final Series
2009: Continental Supersports
2009: Bentley Zagato GTZ
[31]

2010: Bentley Mulsanne
2011: 2nd Generation Continental GT