Bentley: See the Iconic “B” on the Hood of Their Luxury Cars
“Bentley Motors Limited”. 3 words that, when seen, read or spoken, can mean one thing – the ultimate in four-wheel luxury.
How it all started
As a young man, a century ago, Owen Bentley, who has always been known and referred to only as "W.O.", was fascinated by the burgeoning technologies of the day. His first love was railway locomotives and after graduation from Clifton College, he went to work for an English rail company, where he learned important practical skills for his future life. O. W. excelled in engineering and design, and in 1913 founded a company with his brother, which imported cars. The year 1919 was a turning point for the brothers. This was a year when they started to produce their own make of luxury cars, including the important early sport coupe, and with their improved cutting edge engines, the cars became known for their reliability and the history of the famous Bentley mark began with the delivery of the first cars in September 1921. Beginning with a 3-litre engine, as customers put heavier bodies on the chassis, the company produced the 4½ -litre engine.
A Luxury Limousine for the Queen Bentley and the New Continental GT
In 1929, just ten years after the company was founded, the chronically underfunded Bentley motorcar company ran into the headwinds of the 1929 stock market crash and the Great Depression. In 1931, it went into liquidation and it was taken over in the same year by Rolls-Royce. While owned by Rolls-Royce, the Bentley mark lost some its previous identity and from the date of its takeover until 2004, Bentley’s used inherited or shared Rolls-Royce chassis and adapted Rolls-Royce engines. During this period of ownership, the most important Bentley model was its Continental Coupe.
Rolls-Royce and Bentley were eventually taken over in 1980 by a British company, Vickers plc. Bentley sales had fallen badly in the 1970s and 80s but under Vickers, Bentley set about restoring its high-performance heritage, which can be seen in the new 1980 Mulsanne. In 1997, Vickers decided to sell its Rolls-Royce division and it sold its Bentley division to the Volkswagen Group with the Rolls-Royce division being bought by BMW. As a sign of the revived fortunes of the company, in 2002, Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine to celebrate her Golden Jubilee. A spate of new models has come from Bentley, including the Bentley Continental GT, a large luxury coupé, in 2003.
Bentley Continental GT also became the inspiration for a new Bentley collection of luxury men's and women's clothing and accessories under the name “Iconic Classics”.
The Bentley Bentayga and Its First Diesel
If you thought things couldn’t become more luxurious, think again. Bentley has now introduced the Bentayga, which it describes as offering “a realm of luxury and performance previously unattainable in this sector”. It is described as the most powerful car in the world in its class. In addition, Bentley has introduced the Bentayga Diesel, with a new Bentayga V8 diesel engine. The car can reach speeds of up to 270 km/h and go from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. It offers a 1000 km extended range and it is the only luxury diesel SUV with four, five and seven seat configurations in one body style.
