Bentley

Bentley was initially started on 18 January 1919 by W. O. Bentley, with an evolving chain of acclaimed motor cars and a parade of racing triumphs to demonstrate their excellent performance. If we had mission statements in those times, it may not have been expressed more eloquently than in the words of W.O. himself, "To build a quick vehicle, a great vehicle, the greatest in its category". These phrases are only as applicable now as they continue to advise our actions, beliefs and dreams for the future. Owned since 1998 by Volkswagen AG and found in Crewe, England since 1946, Bentley Motors is focused on making strong and responsive Grand Tourers with the stamina to drive in fashion and comfort, and cross continents at speed.

Bentley Begins:

1912 - 1921: W.O. Bentley (WO to his pals) and his brother HM purchased Lecoq and Fernie, a French car company, renaming it Bentley and Bentley, with headquarters in Mayfair. In 1919, after a stint making plane engines during WWI, the business was resurrected as Bentley Motors.

1921 - 1930: Bentley saw its first triumph at Brooklands in 1921, subsequently entered its only Indianapolis 500 in 1922, where it qualified and concluded last. A privately owned Bentley took fourth location in the firstever Le Mans in 1923, prompting W.O. Bentley to support a factory team. (He called it "the finest race I had actually seen," according to "Bentley: The Story.") Driver Tim Birkin got individual funding to construct the supercharged Birkin Blowers.

 1930 - 1939: WO's devotion to quality created amazing cars -- and a fiscal mess. In 1926, he was demoted to managing director to make area for Woolf Barnato to become chairman. By 1931, things were no better. RollsRoyce purchased the business and kept WO on, if just to keep him from developing a brand new business that could contend with R-R. The first Rolls-created Bentley, the 3.5 Liter, debuted in 1933, and WO left the business for Lagonda in 1935. In 1939, the Bentley factory at Crewe opened.

 1940 - 1982: "Bentley: The Story" calls Bentley's interval of RollsRoyce possession "the blackest of all." WO Bentley died in this time, in 1971 at age 83.

1981 - 1998: In 1984, the Bentley Corniche was renamed the Continental, harkening back to the organization's roots. Rolls made a deal with BMW to the German business to provide engines for the two British marques, the next year.

1998 - 2006: Volkswagen bought RollsRoyce in 1998, including Bentley. BMW then purchased the rights to the RollsRoyce name and declared that as of December 31, 2002, Bentley and Rolls would be two different companies after 67 years of hardly tolerating each other. VW announced it would invest almost $1 billion (in today's dollars) to animate Bentley. The Hunaudieres concept car debuted in Geneva in 1999 and proved to become a step in the course of the brand-new Continental. The 2006 Bentley Azure became the resurrected Bentley's main luxury sedan.

 Each has the 6-liter W12 engine, but the Continental Supersports, as part of Bentleys devotion to lowering its carbon footprint business-wide, can operate on either petrol or biofuels. With the debut of the Bentley Mulsanne in summer time of 2009, however, Bentley was back on solid ground with a long, lavish, petrol-powered sedan.

The company is now based in Crewe (Cheshire, England), with the Central Generation Facilities there. As of November 2012, China is the biggest individual market for Bentley cars.