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The Bentley motor car company
This section provides access to the cars and
autos manufactured under the name of the
Bentley motor car company. An online guide for auto
enthusiasts covering old and new cars and autos. If you
like car talk then you will love this website! A free, online resource with facts and company information about the cars and autos made by the Bentley motor
car company.
Founding of the Bentley motor car company
In which year was the company founded? The
Bentley motor car company was founded in 1919.
Who founded the company? The Bentley motor car
company was founded by Walter Owen Bentley.
History of Bentley motor car company
The history of Bentley motor car company
began when it was founded in 1919 by Walter Owen
Bentley. The following company information and
history timeline details the dates of major
events which influenced the growth of the
business.
History
Timeline of the Bentley motor car company
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1888:
Walter Owen Bentley, known as 'W O', was born on
16 September 1888 and died in 1971.He married 3
times and had no children.
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1912: In 1912 W.O. joined his brother
Horace Millner Bentley in a company called
"Bentley and Bentley" selling French DFP cars.
He was not happy with their performance and he
had always wanted to design and build his own
range of cars with his own name.
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1919: In August 1919 Bentley Motors Ltd
was registered. The company was located at
Cricklewood in North London.
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1921: The first Bentley cars were sold.
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1924: Bentley cars won the first of their
four Le Mans victories in 1924.Joel Woolf
Barnato (27 September 1895 – 27 July 1948) was a
British millionaire, financier and racing
driver. He was impressed by the success and
performance of the cars produced by Bentley.
Other wealthy drivers favoured the cars made by
the company and became known as the 'Bentley
Boys'. The "Bentley Boys" included aviators,
racing drivers and other prominent men including
Woolf Barnato, Sir Henry Birkin, George Duller,
Glen Kidston, S. C. H. "Sammy" Davis and Dr.
Dudley Benjafield. Despite the growing
popularity of the cars and the publicity gained
from the exploits of the Bentley Boys the
business was extremely short of finance.
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1925: Cash flow became a real problem and
in 1925 Joel Woolf Barnato agreed to finance the
business, and became the majority shareholder
and chairman. Despite designing a supercharge
version of his 4 1/2 Litre car ((the famous
"Blower" Bentley) the car failed on the track.
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1929: This was the year of the Wall
Street crash which started the Great Depression
and the the luxury car business was badly
affected.
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1931: After unsuccessful attempts to
save the company the business was sold to a
company called British Central Equitable Trust.
British Central Equitable Trust turned out to be
owned by rivals Rolls-Royce.
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1935: W O Bentley decided to go in 1935
when when Rolls Royce closed the racing
department. He joined the Lagonda company. The
manufacture of the Bentley cars moved to the
Rolls-Royce factory in Derby. The company became
Rolls-Royce Motors Ltd.
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1939 - 1945: World War 11.
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1946: Rolls-Royce and Bentley car
production moved an ex-wartime engine factory in
Crewe during 1946.
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1970: The company became Rolls-Royce
Motors Ltd.
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1971: Rolls-Royce went into
administrative receivership and was nationalised
in 1971
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1973: The Rolls-Royce automobile company
was separated in 1973
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1980 Rolls-Royce Motors was purchased by
Vickers.
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1987: Rolls-Royce plc was re-privatised
in 1987
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1998: Rolls Royce & Bentley cars was purchased
by the Volkswagen Group in 1998 for £430m, although
the Rolls-Royce name was not included in VW's
purchase and was later licensed to BMW who agreed that
Volkswagen would manufacture both Bentley and
Rolls-Royce cars fitted with BMW engines until the end of 2002
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2002: To celebrate the Golden Jubilee,
Bentley presented in Queen Elizabeth II with an
official State Limousine
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2003: BMW engines were no longer used in
Bentley cars. The Volkswagen Group continue to
own Rolls Royce & Bentley although the Rolls
Royce trademark is from now on only used by BMW
on it's own cars.
James Bond
and his Bentley Cars
The fictional secret agent James Bond owned
several Bentleys in the original novels written
by author Ian Fleming. James Bond's official car
in the Ian Fleming novels was a grey 1933
Bentley convertible featured in in Casino Royale.
The Bentley Mark VI is featured in Moonraker.
Bentley Mark II Continental is driven by James
Bond in Thunderball and in On Her Majesty's
Secret Service. The Bentley Mulsanne Turbo is
then featured in the novel Role of Honour by
John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret
agent, James Bond.
Famous drivers of Bentley Cars
From 1961 to 1969 a famous British
television series featuring secret agents called
the Avengers featured the character John Steed,
played by Patrick Macnee, who drove 1926–1928
Bentley cars including Blower Bentleys and
Bentley Speed Sixes.
What models and types of cars and automobiles
does the Bentley motor car company produce?
The models and types of cars and automobiles
produced by the company include those detailed
on the following list. Whether you enjoy
comparing cars and autos, want to conduct some
research before you buy a new car or a used car
or finally an automobile enthusiast who loves
fast, cool, new, old, vintage, classic, antique,
sports, top, muscle or exotic cars we have the
info you are searching for! Select the
automobile you are interested in and click the
link for access to an online overview of this
Bentley vehicle with car guides, online facts,
information, statistics, specs, specifications,
design details and ratings of cars and autos.
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