To a lot of, the Bentley name means total luxury and performance having a price tag to match. Today, its cars tend to be seen together with footballers, film stars and financial leaders. However the affluent car maker has speed and power firmly etched into its roots, also. British engineer Walter Owen Bentley initially learned his trade designing and building aircraft engines throughout the First World War, leading to his infamous Bentley BR1 aero engine in that period. ‘WO’ already had experience dabbling using the automotive industry by time the war ended, when he and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, started importing and selling French DFP (Doriot, Flandrin & Parant ) cars in 1912. Ever the precocious idealist, the 21-year-old spotted a chance to build the car he always wanted to. Using the help of his brother, that dream became a reality in August 1919 – Bentley Motors Ltd was born. Two months later, the very first Bentley 3. 0-litre engine fired into life at their Baker Street, London premises, and the listed year Autocar road-tested the very first complete car – the handbuilt prototype EXP1. In 1920, we said : “For the man who desires a real sporting kinds of light-bodied car for use on the Continental tour, the 3. 0-litre Bentley is undoubtedly the car par excellence. ”Two more prototypes followed as WO continued in relentless pursuit of his vision “A fast car, a very good car, the very best in its class” before finally the very first production model was bought from September 1921. Bentley then got the racing fever and entrants were made in various hill climbs, the 1922 Indianapolis 500 and also at Brooklands. In 1924, Bentley took the chequered flag in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also the cars became an enormous hit among wealthy British petrolheads. Further Le Mans victories followed from 1927-1930 however the company began to hit financial troubles. Woolf Barnato, a racing driver, fan from the cars and also a member from the ‘Bentley Boys’ helped finance the corporate, initially injecting £100, 000 straight into the firm and eventually taking full control, leaving WO Bentley an employee and also to design new cars. In March 1930, Barnato notoriously had the Rover Light Six in her sights when he bet £100 and raced the Le Train Bleu from Cannes to London via Calais and won inside the Bentley Speed Six, paving way to the tail from the infamous Bentley Blue Train story and further cementing the extravagant marque using its racing and GT heritage. Despite Barnato’s steady income, the Great Depression of 1930 knocked Bentley for 6. This point, fabled rival Rolls-Royce stepped in and bought Bentley Motors Ltd, moving production north to Derby. However, founder WO Bentley left the corporate when his contract expired in 1935, jumping ship to Lagonda as technical director. In 1946, Rolls-Royce chose to maneuver Bentley production to Crewe, which paved the method for fresh ideas and new technology to locate a good way into cars wearing the B-winged emblem. The Bentley Mark VI became the very first car to become built entirely at Bentley’s Crewe works and also the first to become offered having a pressed-steel body shell as standard. Two engine options were offered – 4. 3-litre and 4. 6-litre inline six cylinder units. Coach-built cars were still available, however the Mark VI signalled the dawn of a brand new era in Bentley car production and have become perhaps one of the marque’s biggest selling cars in history. From the 1950s it was eventually clear the Mark VI was in need of assistance of the replacement and thus the R-type Continental was launched in 1952. The collaboration between Rolls-Royce and Bentley was exceeding expectations and 3 years later the 2 brands were sharing identical technology – the Bentley S Series differing coming from the Silver Cloud only in external styling. Ten years of intensive development and also a redesigned production line at Crewe in 1965 produced the Bentley T Series together with its Rolls-Royce sibling – the Silver Shadow. With independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and air-conditioning, it was eventually the very first Bentley built having a monocoque chassis and body shell. As gracious because it is at design and also as smooth because it is at performance, the T Series was seen by Bentley enthusiasts like the final betrayal from the marque’s sporting heritage. Their loyalty towards the winged B was vital. As sales from the new cars began to decline, the performance credentials that Bentley had fought so difficult to succeed upon the racetrack were now a distant memory among luxury car buyers worldwide. Straight into the 1970s and early 1980s, Bentley sales continued to plummet and also at one point, Bentley production counted for just five per cent of combined output in the Crewe facility. Following the financial collapse of Rolls-Royce, the corporate was nationalised from the British government. Rolls-Royce Motors Limited and Bentley were acquired by Vickers plc in 1980. Under Vickers plc, Bentley restored its former reputation like a luxury sports car maker and also the sales started to rise because of the 1980 Mulsanne and Bentley’s restored sporting image. By 1991, the output ratio of Bentley to Rolls-Royce was 50 : 50. In 1998, Vickers plc sold as much as Volkswagen, who had outbid BMW at that time to the brands. BMW then bought the rights towards the Rolls-Royce name and announced that Rolls-Royce and Bentley could be two separate companies after 67 many years of collaborating together. Volkswagen didn’t hang about ; injecting £500 million straight into the car firm to modernise the Crewe premises and boost production capacity. Employee numbers soared from 1, 500 in 1998 to over 4, 000 by 2011. Although total profits dipped from 2008 to 2010, Bentley witnessed a surge in profitability because the start from the decade, using the Continental GT boasting one-third of total sales. Subsequent chapters in Bentley’s illustrious history have yet to become written. Will the luxurious British marque have the ability to back up its original motto of “A fast car, a very good car, the very best in its class” having a 200mph luxury SUV planned for 2016? You are able to bet Autocar will certainly be the very first to see. Aaron Smith History of Bentley - picture special
Sunday, September 14, 2014
History of Bentley - picture special
To a lot of, the Bentley name means total luxury and performance having a price tag to match. Today, its cars tend to be seen together with footballers, film stars and financial leaders. However the affluent car maker has speed and power firmly etched into its roots, also. British engineer Walter Owen Bentley initially learned his trade designing and building aircraft engines throughout the First World War, leading to his infamous Bentley BR1 aero engine in that period. ‘WO’ already had experience dabbling using the automotive industry by time the war ended, when he and his brother, Horace Millner Bentley, started importing and selling French DFP (Doriot, Flandrin & Parant ) cars in 1912. Ever the precocious idealist, the 21-year-old spotted a chance to build the car he always wanted to. Using the help of his brother, that dream became a reality in August 1919 – Bentley Motors Ltd was born. Two months later, the very first Bentley 3. 0-litre engine fired into life at their Baker Street, London premises, and the listed year Autocar road-tested the very first complete car – the handbuilt prototype EXP1. In 1920, we said : “For the man who desires a real sporting kinds of light-bodied car for use on the Continental tour, the 3. 0-litre Bentley is undoubtedly the car par excellence. ”Two more prototypes followed as WO continued in relentless pursuit of his vision “A fast car, a very good car, the very best in its class” before finally the very first production model was bought from September 1921. Bentley then got the racing fever and entrants were made in various hill climbs, the 1922 Indianapolis 500 and also at Brooklands. In 1924, Bentley took the chequered flag in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and also the cars became an enormous hit among wealthy British petrolheads. Further Le Mans victories followed from 1927-1930 however the company began to hit financial troubles. Woolf Barnato, a racing driver, fan from the cars and also a member from the ‘Bentley Boys’ helped finance the corporate, initially injecting £100, 000 straight into the firm and eventually taking full control, leaving WO Bentley an employee and also to design new cars. In March 1930, Barnato notoriously had the Rover Light Six in her sights when he bet £100 and raced the Le Train Bleu from Cannes to London via Calais and won inside the Bentley Speed Six, paving way to the tail from the infamous Bentley Blue Train story and further cementing the extravagant marque using its racing and GT heritage. Despite Barnato’s steady income, the Great Depression of 1930 knocked Bentley for 6. This point, fabled rival Rolls-Royce stepped in and bought Bentley Motors Ltd, moving production north to Derby. However, founder WO Bentley left the corporate when his contract expired in 1935, jumping ship to Lagonda as technical director. In 1946, Rolls-Royce chose to maneuver Bentley production to Crewe, which paved the method for fresh ideas and new technology to locate a good way into cars wearing the B-winged emblem. The Bentley Mark VI became the very first car to become built entirely at Bentley’s Crewe works and also the first to become offered having a pressed-steel body shell as standard. Two engine options were offered – 4. 3-litre and 4. 6-litre inline six cylinder units. Coach-built cars were still available, however the Mark VI signalled the dawn of a brand new era in Bentley car production and have become perhaps one of the marque’s biggest selling cars in history. From the 1950s it was eventually clear the Mark VI was in need of assistance of the replacement and thus the R-type Continental was launched in 1952. The collaboration between Rolls-Royce and Bentley was exceeding expectations and 3 years later the 2 brands were sharing identical technology – the Bentley S Series differing coming from the Silver Cloud only in external styling. Ten years of intensive development and also a redesigned production line at Crewe in 1965 produced the Bentley T Series together with its Rolls-Royce sibling – the Silver Shadow. With independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and air-conditioning, it was eventually the very first Bentley built having a monocoque chassis and body shell. As gracious because it is at design and also as smooth because it is at performance, the T Series was seen by Bentley enthusiasts like the final betrayal from the marque’s sporting heritage. Their loyalty towards the winged B was vital. As sales from the new cars began to decline, the performance credentials that Bentley had fought so difficult to succeed upon the racetrack were now a distant memory among luxury car buyers worldwide. Straight into the 1970s and early 1980s, Bentley sales continued to plummet and also at one point, Bentley production counted for just five per cent of combined output in the Crewe facility. Following the financial collapse of Rolls-Royce, the corporate was nationalised from the British government. Rolls-Royce Motors Limited and Bentley were acquired by Vickers plc in 1980. Under Vickers plc, Bentley restored its former reputation like a luxury sports car maker and also the sales started to rise because of the 1980 Mulsanne and Bentley’s restored sporting image. By 1991, the output ratio of Bentley to Rolls-Royce was 50 : 50. In 1998, Vickers plc sold as much as Volkswagen, who had outbid BMW at that time to the brands. BMW then bought the rights towards the Rolls-Royce name and announced that Rolls-Royce and Bentley could be two separate companies after 67 many years of collaborating together. Volkswagen didn’t hang about ; injecting £500 million straight into the car firm to modernise the Crewe premises and boost production capacity. Employee numbers soared from 1, 500 in 1998 to over 4, 000 by 2011. Although total profits dipped from 2008 to 2010, Bentley witnessed a surge in profitability because the start from the decade, using the Continental GT boasting one-third of total sales. Subsequent chapters in Bentley’s illustrious history have yet to become written. Will the luxurious British marque have the ability to back up its original motto of “A fast car, a very good car, the very best in its class” having a 200mph luxury SUV planned for 2016? You are able to bet Autocar will certainly be the very first to see. Aaron Smith History of Bentley - picture special
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