Like Rolls-Royce, Bentley stands for classic British luxury sedans.
As the purveyor to the British royal family, Bentley provided the Queen with her own state limousine, of which there are only two copies.
The
Bentley car brand
was founded in London in 1919.
Bentley was part of Rolls-Royce for a long time
.
In 1998, Volkswagen and BMW split the two British brands between themselves.
London - When
Queen Elizabeth II
keeps official appointments in her kingdom, she sits in a
Bentley
.
The exclusive Bentley State sedan costs an impressive 11 million euros each and contributes significantly to the
image of
the
car
brand as a British luxury brand.
Bentley: The Story
The
Bentley car brand
was founded in 1919 in the London borough of Cricklewood by
Walter Owen Bentley
, a passionate racing driver who had previously sold French cars with his brother.
The first
Bentley
models
found numerous buyers, but the company ran into financial difficulties as early as 1925.
In the following years, the British racing driver
Woolf Barnato
helped
with several cash injections and became the main shareholder and CEO at the same time.
He was one of the so-called Bentley Boys, young racing drivers who celebrated great successes in the Bentley at Le Mans 24-hour races, among other things.
Nevertheless, Bentley Motors Ltd.
did not survive as an independent company and was taken over by Rolls-Royce in 1931.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce kept the
Bentley
brand name
and sold numerous
models
under this name
in the decades
that followed.
Bentley and Rolls-Royce vehicles were manufactured in a single plant in the northern English city of Crewe.
The
two identical models Bentley T-Series and Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow became
one of the greatest successes in the company's
history
in 1965. Bentley was always considered to be the sportier
car brand
, which many people preferred to those who were perceived as conservative and pompous Rolls-Royce gave.
Bentley: takeover by Volkswagen
In 1997,
Vickers plc
, the parent company of
Rolls-Royce Motors
, announced the sale of the automaker and with it the
Bentley brand
.
Since the German
BMW AG
had been working closely with Vickers for a long time and manufactured engines and other auto parts for Bentley and Rolls-Royce, it was considered a predestined buyer.
It was
outbid
by
Volkswagen AG
, but BMW secured the naming rights to the Rolls-Royce car brand.
This led to the separation: BMW AG now produces under the name Rolls-Royce Motors, while Volkswagen AG operates the new, old car brand Bentley Motors Limited independently.
After models based on Rolls-Royce had been sold for a few years, from 2009 only Bentleys based on Volkswagen came onto the market.
Bentley: The most important models
A selection
of
Bentley
models
:
model |
model |
Car type |
4 ½ liter "Blower Bentley" |
1926-1930 |
race car |
Derby |
1933-1941 |
limousine |
R-Type Continental |
1952-1955 |
limousine |
T-Series (T1 and T2) |
1965-1980 |
limousine |
Mulsanne |
1980-1992 |
limousine |
Brooklands |
1992-1998 |
limousine |
Arnage |
1998-2009 |
limousine |
Continental Flying Spur |
since 2005 |
Coupe |
In 2016, Bentley presented its first SUV, the Bentley Bentayga.
With the Bentley EXP Speed 8, the car brand took part in the Le Mans 24-hour race for the first time in over 70 years and even won it in 2003.
Bentley: Chairman and CEO today
After the takeover by
Volkswagen AG
, the British car brand Bentley was initially run by German
CEOs
.
Wolfgang Dürheimer
was Brand Board Member for Bentley and Bugatti from 2011 to 2012 and from 2014 to 2018.
In 2018, the Briton
Adrian Hallmark moved
from Jaguar Land Rover to Bentley and was appointed as the new CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management.
In 2020 the company announced that it would only manufacture electric vehicles from 2030.
Bentley: Image
Bentley
maintains its
image
as a British luxury limousine, not least as a purveyor to the court of the British royal family.
Great Britain's most famous spies also drove Bentley: John Steed ("With Umbrella, Charm and Bowler Hat") drove a total of five Bentleys in three seasons of the series, while James Bond drove a Bentley Mark IV in the film "From Moscow with Love" (1964).
