Bentley Auto history

Bentley Motors Company was launched on 18 January 1919 by Walter Owen Bentley and Horace Millner Bentley in Cricklewood, North London.

It uses an all-new 6.2-litre aluminium V8 engine, replacing the six-cylinder unit originally developed for Rolls-Royce models in the 1920s.

1921 May - Bentley achieves its first racing success with Frank Clement victorious at Brooklands.

1923 May - John Duff and Frank Clement drive a privately-entered 3-litre to fourth place in the first 24-hour Le Mans race.

1924 June - Now competing with official Bentley backing, Duff and Clement return to Le Mans and win outright.

By 1925, Bentley had developed the 6½ Litre and the Speed Six, which would become his most successful race cars, but the money was quickly running out.

1926 May - Bentley's financial difficulties are eased with new investment from Woolf Barnato, who becomes company chairman.

1927 June - Sammy Davis and Dr Dudley Benjafield nurse a badly damaged 3-litre home for an epic victory in the Le Mans 24-hour race.

But it was under Barnato's regime that Bentley developed the 4½ Litre, in which Barnato would win Le Mans in 1928—and which would later be supercharged as the Blower Bentley, much to W.O. 's chagrin.

The beginning of 1929 saw the company turn its first profit, and W.O. considered taking Bentley Motors public.

1930 June - Barnato and Glen Kidston are winners and another 'Speed Six is placed second at the last Le Mans race Bentley will enter for 71 years.

The deal seemed so certain that in July 1931, just as negotiations were announced, W.O. began working with Napier on a new car.

Royce designed a variable-control ride system to highlight its sporty nature, and in 1933 the Bentley 3½ Litre went on sale.

W. O. Bentley who was at the time of Rolls Royce’s takeover still working and designing Bentleys left the company as soon as his contract has expired in 1935.

In 1938, André Embiricos, a wealthy Greek racing driver living in Paris, commissioned a Bentley 4 ½ Litre with a sleek, aerodynamic body made from Duralumin, a lightweight aluminium alloy.

1939 February - A 4 � -litre Bentley is built to special order with aerodynamic bodywork and goes on to provide a demonstration of high-speed cruising ability on Continental motorways.

1946 May - Bentley and Rolls Royce move its production to the Crewe factory.

Stefan Sielaff, the new designer with over 25 years of experience says the company will continue to be inspired by its classic cars of yesteryears such as Mulliner R-Type of 1952 with its beautiful proportions.

1955 April - The Bentley S Series is announced, powered by a new 4.9-litre version of the six-cylinder engine and equipped with automatic transmission.

1957 October - The lightweight Mulliner-bodied four-door Bentley Continental Flying Spur is launched.

1959 September - The Bentley S2 is announced.

When the T-Series made its debut in 1965, it was virtually indistinguishable from the Silver Shadow, completely lacking the sporting nature Bentleys had been known for.

1970 July - The V8 engine is re-engineered to increase capacity to 6 � litres - the size it has remained to this day.

1971 March - Both the Bentley T Series and Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow two-door saloon and drophead models are renamed Corniche.

1980 October - Bentley's Le Mans heritage is echoed in the name Mulsanne, given to the new development of the T Series.

1982 March - The high-performance Bentley Mulsanne Turbo is announced, capable of nought to 60mph acceleration in seven seconds and a 135mph top speed.

1985 May - The legendary Bentley Mulsanne Turbo R is launched, the fastest road-going Bentley yet.

Unveiled at Geneva in 1991, the Continental R was the first Bentley of the Rolls Royce era not to share a body with a Rolls Royce model.

Built for the 1994 Geneva Motor Show and based on a BMW 5 Series platform, its smaller size and Cosworth turbo V-8 signaled Vickers' intention to resurrect Bentley's sporting nature.

1998 April - The Bentley Arnage is announced.

1999 September - The Bentley Arnage Red Label is launched. marking the return of the 6 � -litre V8 engine to the range.

2000 November - Bentley announces it is to return to competition at Le Mans.

2001 January - The Bentley EXP Speed 8 race car is presented at the Detroit Motor Show.

BMW buys the rights to the Rolls-Royce name and it is announced that from midnight on December 31st 2002 Bentley and Rolls-Royce will be separate companies once again, after 67 years together.

Automobile editor emeritus, the late David E. Davis Jr., visited it in 2003. "It's changed dramatically, with German light and fresh paint and new machinery replacing rundown British charm," he reported. "To a several-time visitor over the past three decades, the difference is startling.